Parties, Paris and plans for LA2028: father and son on their Olympic gold medals

Team gold medal-winning showjumpers Harry Charles and his father Peter are considering a party, and “hitting the road running” for the World Championships in two years’ time.

Harry and Peter Charles, who won gold last week and 12 years ago, with Romeo 88 and Vindicat W respectively, both jumping clear and both with Ben Maher and Scott Brash on the team, spoke after today’s individual Olympic showjumping final.

Harry had qualified for today’s showdown but withdrew Romeo as the 15-year-old had a slight overreach. But asked if he was disappointed, Harry said: “No. Romeo’s in great shape, and if he’s not 110% I wasn’t going to jump and we go home happy.

“He goes home with a gold medal. We did what we came here to do with the team, and he jumped an amazing round yesterday, after that, so I’m delighted. And obviously I would have liked to jump, but hopefully I’ll have a couple more goes at it.

“To win the Olympic gold medal is every sportsperson’s dream, and I think to do it in the manner we did it, the only team to have three clear rounds, was really special. So we have a lot of people to thank, and we’re going to go home and reflect on it.”

Harry was at his second Olympics and he said he would not have been there, and able to win a medal, without his experience in Tokyo three years ago.

“That, for me, was a big learning curve, and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to deliver what we did here without that,” he said. “So I’m very grateful for that, even though at the time, it wasn’t exactly how I saw it going. I think you’ve seen a difference in how much the partnership has grown, we’ve been together now three and a half years. It makes such a difference, you know, knowing your horse, and I’ll for ever be grateful to him.

“It got tough in Tokyo, not the round we wanted, and then we had to go back in again for the team. I had to dig deep a bit; to be honest, I walked the course and really didn’t want to ride. But my dad said, ‘No, you have to do this. This is going to make you’. And he often says that was a defining moment in my career. I could have gone in there and crumbled. And actually we came out with not a bad score in a team final. That was my last round, so actually, I felt we left on a really good note. And since Tokyo, then my career kind of took off a little bit, we’ve had some great wins. It was a really a making moment for me, I think.”

Peter agreed it had been a good week, but that he does not get too excited or too depressed.

“You take the rough and the smooth,” he said, adding that the road to Paris had been a bumpy one, including Harry’s breaking his arm.

“I wasn’t too worried; there’s other people far more worried than me,” he said. “Harry was fine, I knew he’d be fine. Did I expect a medal from these guys? Yes. Gold, a bonus. Bronze, I thought we’d squeak it. But the way they all rode, there was no Big Star, there was no Explosion, no Sanctos in the team but three very, very good horses.

“The night before, we had a talk about it, all the lads had to ride 100% of their talent and ability. The horses all had to give close to that maximum. And that’s exactly what happened.

“You could see in the ring, no rider made any mistakes. Yes, a time-fault here or there, but the fences didn’t fall. It was going to be close to getting a medal. And then, you know, a gold medal was just the way a cookie crumbled a bit.”

Peter said he was very proud, but asked how much credit he took for keeping Romeo going since Harry’s fall, said: “Anyone could have done it!”

And when asked if there was to be a party, Peter said he was already planning the road ahead instead.

“I’m thinking the World Championship for two years, finding more horses you’ve got to do that, got to qualify for LA,” he said. “There’s a lot to do. And if the work starts right now, you won’t be sitting on your backside. This is done and finished with me; I’m down the road to hit the road running.”

But asked if Harry would be at a party to celebrate the fantastic week, he said: “Yes, and Dad will be attending it!”

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