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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 15: Isabell Werth of Germany riding Weihegold Old competes in the Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle on Day 10 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Equestrian Centre on August 15, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 15: Isabell Werth of Germany riding Weihegold Old competes in the Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle on Day 10 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Equestrian Centre on August 15, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Last month, Germany announced their equestrian teams for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021. Leading the dressage team is world #1 ranked dressage rider Isabell Werth. With ten Olympic medals to her name, Werth is the most decorated athlete in Olympic equestrian history.
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Isabell Werth is Olympic royalty
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PARIS, FRANCE – APRIL 14: Isabell Werth of Germany (riding Weihegold OLD) celebrates winning the FEI World Cup Dressage Final during the FEI World Cup Paris Finals 2018 at Accorhotels Arena on April 14, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
At 51, Isabell Werth enters her sixth Olympic Games. She’s won ten medals in her five Olympic appearances, which is truly a legendary stat. With six gold and four silver, she’s the most decorated Olympian in equestrian history.
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Werth isn’t merely an Olympic legend, but also a polarising figure in the equestrian world. Suspended in 2009 for doping allegations, her reputation took a massive hit and she had to rebuild it. And at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Werth dominated the field once again and picked up a gold in team dressage and a silver in individual dressage.
In her first Olympic appearance in 1992, Werth set Barcelona on fire with her legendary horse Gigolo. Gigolo led her to Olympic victories in 1992, 1996 and 2000. Werth is one of the few athletes to win a gold medal in every Olympics she’s entered.
Aside from the Olympics, Werth dominated the field at multiple European and World Championships. With nine World Championships and twenty European Championships to her name, Werth has become the world #1 in dressage. Will she add an eleventh and twelfth medal to her legendary tally at the Tokyo Olympics 2021?
Who joins the German dressage team in Tokyo?
The expectations on the German dressage team are massive, especially since they’ve dominated the field for decades. While Werth will be the main focus, the spotlight will also fall on Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, Dorothee Schneider and Helen Langehanenberg. Werth will ride Bella Rose, while Bredow-Werndl’s on TSF Dalera BB. Schneider will ride Showtime FRH.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl will make her Olympics debut in Tokyo, but she has a ton of experience in dressage. She’s a former World Champion, European Champion and represented her country at three World Cups. Joining her is Dorothee Schneider, who was part of the gold medal winning team from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Helen Langehanenberg is the traveling reserve for the team, but is also an Olympic silver medalist and part of the dressage team from the 2012 London Olympics.
Read more: Tokyo Olympics 2021: Great Britain Equestrian World Champion Changes Horse Ahead of Olympics
