Kiwi equestrian Melissa Galloway on Windermere J’Obei W has bowed out of the Paris Olympics with a national record.
The combination scored 68.914 percent to claim a New Zealand Olympic record for the highest Grand Prix dressage score and finish seventh of 10 in Group G and 40th overall on Wednesday (Thursday NZ Time).
LATEST HEADLINES:
With the dressage run over two days at Chateau de Versailles and split into ranking groups, the New Zealander faced a tough task.
The highest score of the six groups came from the Group G winner Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (Germany) aboard TSF Dalera BB on 82.065 percent. The top-two from each of six groups and the six next-best scores qualified for the individual final – the grand prix freestyle.
Despite missing out on the final, Galloway was ecstatic, especially as she did it on a horse she bought as a two-year-old and has produced herself.
“It’s such a different story from the majority of people here. I don’t think many realise where we come from, what the facilities are like and the access is to training, compared to what everyone has here.
“It’s such a different world, so to actually have done it and made it to the Olympics and not done a bad job, I am so, so proud and so grateful.”
Galloway said the feeling in the test was just pure joy and harmony. “I loved how he lifted as the crowd cheered when we entered and from then on, I just enjoyed it all, as did he. Overall, he felt strong and powerful. It was a moment we will treasure forever.”
The previous New Zealand Olympic Grand Prix record was set by Julie Brougham aboard Vom Feinsten at Rio 2016, when they scored 68.543 percent.
There was mixed news for the New Zealand rowers on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics.
The women's lightweight double sculls boat of Shannon Cox and Jackie Kiddle easily progressed to the final, while the men's pair of Dan Williamson and Phil Wilson missed out in their semifinal.
Cox and Kiddle recorded 7 minutes 02.86 seconds to finish second in their semifinal, three seconds behind Great Britain, but comfortably ahead of the third-placed United States boat.
Williamson and Wilson finished fourth in their race, with only the top-three making it through to the final, and will be consigned to racing in the B final.
Williamson and Wilson were timed at 6:32.77, half-a-second behind third-placed Ireland. Their time would have placed them third in the other semifinal.
“It’s bitterly disappointing,” said Williamson. “We didn’t perform how we wanted today. We didn’t quite click and couldn’t find the rhythm we had in our heat.”
Meanwhile, at the Paris La Defense pool, New Zealand backstroke specialist Kane Follows missed out on a place in the men's 200m semifinals.
Follows, 27, was second in his heat on Wednesday in 1 minute 58.63 seconds. He needed to be in the top-16 from the heats to advance to the semifinals, but his time was just the 21st-fastest.