Updated at 17.08
IRELAND’S DANIEL COYLE and Shane Sweetnam have booked their place in tomorrow’s final of the individual showjumping at the Paris Olympics while Cian O’Connor has narrowly missed out on qualification.
Sweetnam was first up for Ireland, producing a flawless display in 73.35 with zero penalties upon James Kann Cruz. 19 of 74 competitors had run at that point, with Sweetnam’s clear run firing him into the lead at that stage.
Sweetnam was still leading by the time Coyle went on his run with Legacy. Another clear run followed with no fences down and no penalties accrued. Coyle cleared the run in a time of 73.64 to slot into second place behind Sweetnam to put them in a strong position to reach the final at that stage.
France’s Julien Epaillard went into the lead with a time of 73.07, pushing Sweetnam and Coyle into second and third.
O’Connor was delayed in completing his run as his horse, Maurice lost a shoe during the warm-up which was far from ideal preparation. By the time O’Connor began his round, Sweetnam and Coyle were already assured of a place in tomorrow’s final.
O’Connor dropped a barrier during his run to give him a penalty count of four, finishing in a time of 75.17 to leave him in 30th place. Only 30 can qualify for tomorrow’s final, meaning he faced an anxious wait with seven riders remaining.
Germany’s Philipp Weishauppt also had four faults during his run but finished in a time of 73.42. Brazil’s Stephan de Freitas Barcha then had a clear run, pushing O’Connor into 32nd spot at the finish to see him narrowly fall short of a place in the final.
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