Jorge claims emotional gold at Aquece Rio equestrian Test Event

Marcio Jorge (BRA) and Coronel MCJ were popular and convincing winners of the Aquece Rio International Horse Trials, the test event that wound to a close at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Centre today. In front of a huge contingent of voluble fans, Jorge steered the talented grey to a supremely confident clear over the coloured fences to claim victory – and the gold medal – by a huge margin over runner-up Marcio Appel (Cross Rock), with Marcelo Tosi (Glenfly) in bronze.

Jorge had taken over the lead after cruising round Saturday’s cross country course well inside the time, but had only a slim 2.7 penalty lead over his main rival and compatriot Marcelo Tosi going into the final day. But Jorge and Coronel never faltered in today’s Jumping phase to complete on the mark of 44.5 that they earned in the Dressage two days earlier. The winners were the only pair to finish on their Dressage score, leaving them 18.8 penalties – four fences – clear of the opposition.

Going into the Jumping test, Marcelo Tosi had a three-fence advantage over Marcio Appel, and looked set to claim silver, but Glenfly took a brick out of the wall at the third and then lowered poles from a further four fences to rack up 20 penalties and drop to bronze.

Marcio Appel and Cross Rock faulted only once, kicking out the top rail at the Brazilian green and yellow triple bar and, with a final score of 63.3, held on for the silver ahead of Tosi. And Appel’s good form continued, as he also slotted his second ride, Iberon Jmen, into fourth with a clear Jumping round, overtaking Nilson Da Silva and Tiger Lu who added eight faults to their total when taking out the first two parts of the combination.

After the presentation ceremony, with medals presented by Nawal el Moutawakel, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Rio 2016, and the lap of honour, Marcio Jorge talked of his determination to be a part of the Brazilian team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“There’s strong competition to get in the team and it will be a tough selection, but we’re in a good position now as we had very few at this level in the past and we had no substitutes”, he said.

"The Rio 2016 legacy will be spectacular, not only for equestrian, but for all other sports. It will be a great incentive to get a new generation into sport. And of course it also helps the high-performance athletes. I think the Olympics will leave us among the best sporting countries.”

Silver medallist Marcio Appel was bullish about Brazil’s chances of a place on the medal podium next year. “We have a real shot at an Olympic medal. Since the last Olympic Games, we've been training really hard and a lot of investment has gone into the team. Having the Olympic Games here in Brazil means that you’re a lot happier to get up early in the morning and work hard.”

With only Brazilian horses competing at the Test Event it was always going to be a victory for the host country, but the quality of the competition, and the impressive Deodoro venue with its dedicated back of house team and welcoming volunteers was a win for Brazil too. Roll on Rio 2016!

Aquece Rio International Horse Trials (final results) – 1, Coronel MCJ (Marcio Jorge), BRA, 44.5 penalties; 2, Cross Rock (Marcio Appel), BRA, 63.3; 3, Glenfly (Marcelo Tosi), BRA, 67.2; 4, Iberon Jmen (Marcio Appel), BRA, 68.4; 5, Tiger Lu (Nilson da Silva), BRA, 72.1; 6, Estiva TW (Serguei Fofanoff), BRA, 72.1.

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Notes to editor

Equestrian at Deodoro Olympic Park

The Deodoro Olympic Park is the second largest Rio 2016 Games cluster. Deodoro’s nine venues will host the Olympic sports of basketball, BMX, canoe slalom, fencing, hockey, modern pentathlon, mountain biking, rugby sevens, shooting and the Paralympic sports of wheelchair fencing, Football 7-a-side and shooting alongside Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, and Para-Equestrian Dressage: www.rio2016.org/en/the-games/map-of-the-venues-0

Rio 2016 Olympic Games - qualified nations

Brazil, as host nation, earns automatic team qualification for Rio 2016. Full details on qualified nations will be updated at http://fei.org/fei/games/olympic/rio-2016 (see “Qualification System” link per discipline). The following nations have so far qualified team spots for Rio 2016:

Jumping: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine, USA, Qatar

Dressage: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, USA

Eventing: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, USA

The remaining equestrian team places at Rio 2016 will be decided at continental qualifiers, while individual places will be decided according to world rankings. All athletes competing at the Games must obtain the minimum eligibility requirements.

Rio 2016 useful links

www.rio2016.com/en/the-games/olympic

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Share images, video, experiences using hashtags #1yeartogo & #Rio2016

Rio 2016 Organising Committee is also making images, video, athlete quotes and news available on www.rio2016.com/en and Rio 2016 social media channels. Images of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee programmes and events can also be accessed through the dedicated press room: http://goo.gl/y7dDZs and videos of the Rio 2016 venues and transformations taking place across the city can be found on the Rio City Hall ´Cidade Olimpica´ website: www.cidadeolimpica.com.br/en

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org

The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm. The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining. The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para-Equestrian Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para-Equestrian Dressage and Para-Driving.