Austria and France have a last minute chance of a team Olympic start

For some dressage riders in Austria and France, the New Year’s Eve celebration turned out to be somewhat more generous and cheerful this year than initially planned. The news for France and Austria came unexpectedly shortly before the end of the year that a team from these two countries would get a starting place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in summer 2020. The reason: The Grand Prix de Dressage in Mechelen was the last chance for riders from the already qualified countries of South Africa and Brazil to meet their performance requirements. Two out of three riders had previously met these requirements. But it stayed that way – that means: neither South Africa nor Brazil will provide a team for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Qualifications for the Olympic Games are a complex system. Every nation has the chance to secure a starting place in the pre-determined qualification tournaments. The team’s performance is crucial for this. But even if a team wins, three riders from this nation must secure their admission at international dressage tournaments using the performance requirements. It does not matter which tab they are. The riders do not have to be part of the team that has achieved the start authorization for the team with their performance. But there must be three riders because an Olympic team in dressage consists of three riders.

The nations of South Africa and Brazil already had their team start permit in the dressage discipline in their pockets. But only two out of three riders managed to meet the mandatory requirement on time by December 31, 2019. For this, a rider has to finish at least two international Grand Prix de Dressage with a result of over 66 percent. The prerequisite for this is that at least one five-star judge of another nationality must rate the rider with more than 66 percent. The last chance for the third rider from South Africa and Brazil was due to the deadline for the Grand Prix in Mechelen.

South African rider Laurienne Dittmann stayed at the Grand Prix in Mechelen with 62.826 percent below the required 66 percent. There was no rider for Brazil in this test. Therefore, it applies to both countries that the team starting position is allocated differently. There is also a complicated system for this award, but this will not be explained further here. One thing is certain: France and Austria benefit from the bad luck that South Africa and Brazil had. The two European nations can start with a team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in summer 2020.