22 September 2024
WCH Le Pin 2024: Golds for Mario Gandolfo and team France
Mario Gandolfo (SUI) secured his first individual FEI World Singles gold medal at Le Pin au Haras amid tight competition. Crediting his 10-year-old mare Favela for their winning Marathon on Saturday, they also produced a foot perfect double clear Cones round on Sunday afternoon to keep the pressure on overnight leader Marion Vignaud (FRA). Last to go, it looked as if gold would be Marion’s until she knocked the final oxer which added three to her score and meant a drop to silver by only 0.51. Stefan Ulrich (SUI) took bronze after a double clear Cones and a strong Marathon. It was equally close in the team event, but France stayed in front by only 1.32 to retain gold ahead of Germany in silver and Switzerland in bronze, separated by a mere 0.84.The 2024 FEI Driving World Championships for Singles had an incredible outcome. This fourth world championship in a row organised by the Orléans site was a success both in sporting terms and for the public, who turned out in force on Saturday to watch a spectacular marathon. The Pôle International de Sports Equestres is now one of the most renowned equestrian complexes in the world, particularly for driving.
The gaps between the top five in the individual rankings were very small coming into the cones competition. A dropped ball carries a 3-point penalty, which was enough to mix up the three leaders in the medal positions. Tony Ecalle, the first Frenchman to start, put in an excellent performance, making up for his costly mistake in the marathon. This gave the French some space to breathe. Germany’s Anne Unzeitig came out of cones with penalties for exceeding the time allowed, a boon for both the Swiss and the French. Her compatriot, one of the upcoming stars of Germany, Ciara Schubert in contention for two medals had some penalties and dropped a few places down in the final standings. All three German team members (Anne Unzeitig, Marie Tischer and Ciara Schubert) could still be U25 drivers in the Youth Championship, but the three ladies delivered an outstanding performance for Germany to take team silver in Le Pin in the senior Championship!
Neither Stefan Ulrich nor Mario Gandolfo made the slightest mistake, guaranteeing their country a team medal. The tension was at its height when Marion Vignaud entered the arena. The driver from Burgundy, silver medallist at the last World Championships (2022, Haras national du Pin), had the chance to finally claim the individual title. Everything went perfectly until the final obstacle. She was ten seconds ahead of the time allowed. But unfortunately, in too much of a hurry, she let her horse First Quality go too early as she passed through the gate, causing a ball to fall. Mario Gandolfo and the Swiss team could at last rejoice: they left Normandy with three medals! It’s the first time that an individual gold has gone to a Swiss driver (Michael Barbey, a member of the Swiss team this weekend, won silver in 2012 in Lezirias/POR). France repeated its 2022 performance with the team title and individual silver, the second, for Marion Vignaud. Germany, who have not been on the podium since 2016, took team silver, 0.9 points ahead of Switzerland, who took bronze.
Reaction of Marion Vignaud (FRA), double team gold medallist and individual silver medallist: “I was under a lot of pressure before my cones because the two Swiss before me were very good. At the two previous championships, I was in the lead before the cones and I made mistakes, like two years ago when I was ten points ahead. The horse was pretty good today. We covered the whole course beautifully. Maybe I opened my fingers a bit too early… Everyone has their own way of preparing. For the French, we did what we always do. Unlike the Swiss, I had nothing to celebrate because my marathon wasn’t quite what I expected. The marathon was physical very hard for everyone, between the difference in altitude and the eight obstacles. First Quality finished well yesterday. We walked him a lot to help him recover last night, with massage and treatments, and today he was fine. I’d love to go for gold, so see you in two years’ time in Germany, in Munich.”
