Horse sport: At 35 degrees, gold hopes melt away; Hemmer takes bronze

Katharina Hemmer secured a bronze medal for Germany in the individual dressage competition at the World Championships in Aachen, despite sweltering conditions.

Temperatures soared to 35 degrees Celsius in the shade, testing the endurance of both horse and rider. Hemmer, 32, achieved a score of 80.866 percent with her horse Denoix, earning her a podium finish. She expressed disbelief and immense pride in her performance and her horse's ability to handle the atmosphere and heat.

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Unglaublich

Fellow German rider Isabell Werth, a dominant force in the sport, finished just outside the medals in fourth place with 79.149 percent. Werth, who had helped the German team secure gold two days prior, expressed disappointment, noting that "a little tick was missing." She acknowledged the strong competition, with Great Britain's Charlotte Fry taking gold and Denmark's Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour securing silver.

Despite the heat, which Bundestrainerin Monica Theodorescu noted horses and riders were trained to handle, the high temperatures presented a significant challenge. The Grand Prix Special event saw top pairs competing under the day's highest temperatures before nearly 40,000 spectators. Hemmer's bronze medal marks a significant achievement in her World Championship debut.

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Schade. Ein kleines Tickchen hat gefehlt.