With some 471 days to go till the 2008 Olympic Games and a week during which the eyes of the sports world are turned to Beijing where the SportAccord convention is currently taking place, let us take stock from the past, from the inspirational to the downright remarkable feats in equestrian Olympic history. While the list could be endless, as achievements are incomparable, we have made a small selection of some Olympic legends that have graced our sport with a touch of magic. Moments, when you realize something truly remarkable has just occurred and your whole body is tingling with unabated emotion and excitement.

The year is 1952 and women have only just won the right to compete in Olympic Dressage. The woman is Lis Hartel and her background is rather different from most equestrian athletes of the time. In 1944, at the age of 23, she was paralysed by polio and while she gradually regained the use of most of her muscles she nonetheless remained paralysed below the knee but learned to do without those muscles. She was chosen to represent Denmark at the 1952 Olympics and, even though she had to be helped on and off her horse, was awarded silver. When gold medallist Henri Saint Cyr helped her up onto the victory platform for the medal presentation, it was one of the most emotional moments in Olympic history.

Then there’s the story of a guy that literally takes it step by step and confirms the saying, practice makes perfect… The man is Reiner Klimke, and he is a six-time Olympic Dressage veteran with six gold medals and two bronze. While glorious in retrospect, his first appearance in Rome 1960 saw his individual performance awarded with the lowest score… Not one to give up, he returned four years later, this time to Tokyo and finished sixth. His motivation remained unscathed and he returned yet another four years later at the 1968 Mexico Games and actually stepped onto the podium, with a bronze medal. This success drove him another eight years later to another individual bronze in 1976. We should mention that, throughout this time, as a German national, he was also picking up team gold at virtually every edition. The final straw, only this straw represented an overwhelming achievement, was when he was awarded individual gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, making it effectively an ascension from last place to first in a record 24 years. Those who are last will be first… Epic indeed.

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