After a quiet week in Tokyo, where the jumping horses have been given time to acclimatise, the athletes are now looking forward to getting the competition underway on Tuesday 3rd of August. Ahead of Saturday's veterinary inspection at the Equestrian Park in Baji Koen, WoSJ quickly caught up with Norway’s veteran Geir “Jimmy” Gulliksen, Germany’s Olympic debutant Andre Thieme as well as the Dutch three-time Olympian Marc Houtzager – who already has an Olympic team silver medal from London in 2012 in his collection. 

“Tokyo is my second Olympic Games, the first was in Beijing in 2008. Back then we were qualified with a team. This time, Norway qualified for an individual spot – which has almost been impossible for previous Games. Now that we are here in Tokyo, time is moving slow. I have been here since Tuesday and I have not had such easy-going days for as long as I can remember! I am happy now that the action begins, with the veterinary inspection today and the warm-up tomorrow, so that something starts happening. That being said – with the new format, it can be over very quickly! There are 75 riders in the individual qualifier and only 30 go forward to the final, so it will be tough – 45 very good riders will be out straight away. On Tuesday, you need not only to have a good day, but a very good day, to get to the final!"

"This is my first championship for Germany. I have been quite close to be selected for other championships before with Contanga and Conthendrix, but this time I have a horse that is even a little bit better and it finally worked out. A little highlight during our stay here was the visit to the Olympic Village, it was a nice change. Otherwise, the six days here have up until now been very, very calm and also quite restricted due to the Covid-19 situation. Nevertheless, I am very happy to be here – but I do look forward to it all starting soon!" 

"I have to say that for the last three months, I did not really believe that the Olympic Games would take place at all. But now that we are here, it feels like it is actually going to happen. The stables and arenas here are great, so the facilities are perfect for the horses and riders!”

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