Golden Moment
They now belong to Cian O’Connor, a 25-year-old who in partnership with Waterford Crystal catapulted his sport into the headlines with a sensational victory in the individual show jumping final at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Markopoulo.
There was the Medal Ceremony, the national anthem and the lap of honour. Athens seldom hears Amhrán na bhFiann. After last night’s lump in the throat rendering rendition, the Greeks may never forget it. And all the while O’Connor grappled with a golden friend and his place in Irish Olympic history.
“I’m not normally stuck for words but I just don’t know, it has not sunk in at all yet,” he said, through streaming tears of joy.
“I’m obviously delighted with my horse here today,” he said. “I have a lot of people who have supported me over the last few years - people who work with me, my staff, my owners, the O’Callaghans from Cork, the O’Reillys and a lot of people who have been very good to me, Tommy Wade, the old Chef d’Equipe and his Committee, Gerry Mullins, Eddie Macken, Ned Campion, the new Committee, a lot of people have put a lot of work into this.
“This is not a one-man band and, of course, the horse has done a fantastic job.”
Ah yes Waterford Crystal. There amongst the throngs of congratulations the 13-year-old gelding owned by Tony O’Reilly, Cian’s godfather, stood silently as if also accepting the plaudits.
“Waterford Crystal had been jumping so well all year,” he said. “He was double clear at the Nations Cup in Rome, and I would have expected him to go well here. He jumped clear the first day. The Nations Cup for me was a big disappointment - he had 12 and eight - and I was scratching my head a little bit so I was really the underdog coming here today but everything just came together on the day.”
And then came the understatement of the year. “I would say there will be plenty of Guinness poured back home in Ireland tonight,” he said with a laugh.
“I am sure it will be very well received at home. I would hope it will be a big boost to the sport. Dermott Lennon is the world show jumping champion and now I have won this title so it is very good for the country as a whole and for show jumping in particular.”
But it could have all gone terribly wrong as Waterford Crystal was discovered to have suffered an injury in the weeks before Athens.
“The day he jumped in the Nations Cup he had five fences down over the two rounds and I don’t think he has had five fences down in the last two years. So it was a concern. Our team vet found a couple of spots where he was in pain in his neck and down through his back and just massaged them and we gave the horse a couple of handy days. Last night we gave him a small exercise on the grass arena and he jumped really well so I was confident enough. After the first round I was very confident.”
It had been a tortured few months for the sport with rows overshadowing these Olympic preparations. All was forgotten in the evening cool of the Greek capital for a few hours at least.
“He was the true professional today,” team trainer Eddie Macken said.
“This is our first medal and it is the right colour. There was no problem keeping them calm. Cian is a pretty cool customer. The warm-up went great for him today. I predicted this.
“Horse and rider peaked at just the perfect time. We made history today. When Cian came out of the ring I told him that he had won a medal and I sent him into prepare for a possible jump-off but it was not necessary in the end, he was absolutely superb.”
