Beezie Madden Withdraws Cortes 'C' from Rio Olympics

And then there were three.

The US Olympic Show Jumping team has withdrawn Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ from competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Madden was to contest the medal round of the team final today. She’s elected to withdraw after Cortes ‘C’ sustained an injury during Round One of the Team competition on Tuesday.

Read the official statement by Beezie and John Madden:

“We are heartbroken to announce that Cortes ‘C’ sustained a tendon injury in yesterday’s competition and will be unable to compete for Team USA today. We are confident that he will make a full recovery. While we had hoped to do everything we could to help the USA towards a medal today, Tiny’s [Cortes ‘C’] best interests must come first. We are so thankful to our teammates, sponsors, and most importantly, his owner, Abigail Wexner, for understanding that in this sport, sometimes winning means doing right by your best friend. We will be there today on the sidelines doing everything we can to support Kent, Lucy, and McLain.”

The U.S. are currently in a four-way tie for first going into the team final with Brazil, Germany, and the Netherlands. Brazil is also down to a three-member team after Stephan de Freitas Barcha was disqualified for rough riding in the 1st Team Qualifier.

With six top teams separated by a single rail today, it’s anyone’s game!