Theo Gardies already knows what it feels like to become a World Champion. Two years ago, he won titles in both the individual and team classifications with the French squad in Bern. Here, in Aachen, the 26-year-old excelled spectacularly in the Pas de Deux together with his partner, Noely Thibaudat. “The pressure was immense,” the experienced vaulter admitted openly. “We are overjoyed at claiming Gold. Our thanks also goes to our horse. He is simply the best horse I have ever vaulted on,” the French athlete commented, paying tribute to the performance of Sir Sensation, their 13-year-old Westphalian gelding, lunged by Sirine Abousaid. His words sounded like he was announcing a retirement and that was indeed exactly what he meant: “This is the perfect conclusion.”

The reigning European Champions, Rebecca Greggio and Davide Zanella, secured themselves the silver medal. Competing with the mare, Malleret Romulus TS, who is only nine years old and was lunged by Maud Bousignac Dumont, the Italian pair once again achieved the second-highest score of the day (8.904), which resulted in an overall score of 8.724. “We simply trust each other blindly,” the 26-year-old said, while a few tears of joy rolled down her cheek. This deep bond probably played a key role in the success of their last-minute horse switch. “We are filled with gratitude, for Maud, the horse. It is simply incredible,” said Rebecca Greggio.

The battle for the bronze medal also proved to be an emotional affair. “I can hardly believe this actually happened here,” said a visibly moved Kimberly Hyks who struggled for words after winning the bronze medal (8.303) together with Jannik Heiland. Having only ranked sixth after their first performance, the pair, who competed with the 17-year-old Holstein-bred, Crashkurs, lunged by Andrea Harwardt, performed a spectacular Freestyle routine in front of their home crowd, which made the stadium erupt. “This is truly the perfect reward, the perfect moment,” said a delighted Jannik Heiland regarding the score of 8.589 points, which catapulted the German duo from sixth place onto the podium.

Team Germany wins Gold

The Team Competition provided the crowning finale to this FEI Vaulting World Championship – and what a finale it was. The atmosphere and emotion surrounding the events in this discipline in Aachen were incredibly intense. The foundation was laid by outstanding performances from the individual vaulters, Kathrin Meyer and Alice Layher, who achieved the remarkable feat of contributing identical scores of 9.038 points. However, the afternoon was simply made perfect by the German squad’s spectacular performance, which raised the bar even higher after they were awarded a score of 9.233. “It is the first time since 2018 that Germany has topped the rankings in this class. And doing it here, in front of a home crowd – is just crazy,” said Gianna Ronca, summing up the emotions shared by her teammates Philip Goroncy, Larina Herpertz, Yara Jolie Scheel, Bela Lehnen and Fabio Ring. Ultimately, they notched up an outstanding total score of 9.109 points. The national coach, Kai Vorberg, was practically bursting with pride: “There isn’t enough room inside me for all the emotions I am feeling right now.” For Kathrin Meyer, this triumph also marked her farewell to the big stage. “It is perfect just the way it is,” the 25-year-old said happily, celebrating a career finale that couldn’t have been better.

Behind the victorious Germans, the French team, led by the new Individual Men’s World Champion, Quentin Jabet, secured the silver medal with a score of 8.996. With their impressively staged routine, the squad played a significant role in creating the special atmosphere of this final. The Italian team claimed Bronze to take the remaining place on the podium with a score of 8.771.