TOKYO: Isabell Werth became the first rider to win seven equestrian Olympic gold medals when Germany took the team dressage title in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The 52-year-old has accrued six team titles and one individual gold in six different Games.

Werth — who also extended her record haul of Olympic medals to 11 — takes sole possession of the record she held jointly with late compatriot Reiner Klimke.

Werth and her horse Bella Rose 2 — who performed to a medley of Ode To Joy, Madam Butterfly and Beethoven — scored 2740.5 points.

“It feels good, super,” said Werth. “I’m really happy and proud about the seventh gold medal. It’s a cool feeling.”

The all-female trio also featuring Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, who set an Olympic record, and Dorothee Schneider won Germany’s 14th team crown since 1928 with 8178 points.

Another German, Ricarda Funk, won gold on Tuesday in canoeing by taking the women’s kayak slalom title on Tuesday in a technically accomplished run down a challenging white water course.

Jolanda Neff won the women’s mountain bike race with a masterful solo ride to gold on a rain-drenched Izu circuit, leading a Swiss sweep of the medal stand.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Japan’s Takanori Nagase won the men’s -81kg judo gold medal by beating Saeid Mollaei of Mongolia in the final, extending the gold rush by Japanese judokas.

Rio bronze medallist Nagase’s victory marked a fifth judo gold medal for hosts Japan at the Games, edging them closer to their previous Olympic record of eight titles in 2004 in Athens.

In the women’s -63kg category, Rio silver medallist Clarisse Agbegnenou finally got her hands on the top prize by defeating Tina Trstenjak in the final.

The win allowed the Frenchwoman to avenge her defeat by the Slovenian judoka in the Rio Games final in 2016.

Serbia’s Milica Mandic ended South Korea’s unbroken record of Olympic gold medals for taekwondo, beating Lee Dabin in the women’s heavyweight class final to repeat her victory in the 2012 London Games.

South Korea, where the combat sport originated, had won at least one taekwondo gold at every Summer Games since the sport became a full medal Olympic event in 2000.

In the men’s +80kg category, world number one Vladislav Larin overpowered North Macedonia’s Dejan Georgievski to give the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) the top medal ranking with two of the eight taekwondo golds.

Among other combat sports, Estonia earned a rare Olympic gold medal in the women’s team epee fencing final against South Korea.

Taiwan’s Kuo Hsing-Chun won the gold medal in the women’s 59kg weightlifting event as Canada’s Maude Charron secured victory in the women’s 64kg category.

China swept the new mixed team events in 10-metre air pistol and rifle at the Asaka Shooting Range while also stretching their remarkable 100 percent Olympic record in women’s synchronised 10m platform diving thanks to teenagers Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi.

Published in Dawn, July 28th , 2021