July 28, 2024 
Secretariat and War Admiral. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Every champion needs a worthy rival and an epic match to etch their name in the annals of sports history—and the collective imagination of sports fans the world over.
In eventing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, that battle is between Germany’s Michael Jung and Great Britain’s Laura Collett.
With two rounds on the books and just .5 a penalty point separating them, Collett and Jung are neck and neck, and swapping leads, as they round the corner to Monday’s medal-deciding home stretch. Its eventing’s closest match race to the individual podium in recent history, if not ever. And it’s unfolding on the world’s biggest stage.
Collett made Olympic history on Saturday with her record shattering score of 17.5 in dressage. It could have just as easily been Jung, however. The German was just .3 points behind her on 17.8.
“It was really like a goosebump feeling,” said the German. “Chipmunk was so well concentrated and so with me and listening. Every second it was nice to ride him and directly before I went in, I knew I could take all the risks and I can try everything to get the best marks with him.”
Sunday on cross country the lead shifted hands—by half a penalty.
Collett and London 52 lost a shoe early in the course, but managed to finish just two seconds over the 9 minute 2 second optimal time to add .8 to their scorecard. The Brit now sits on 18.3.
“There are a couple of places where you can really let them gallop, but there are an awful lot of twists and turns and after he lost a shoe, he was slipping all over the place. That meant I had to be quite careful on those turns and really kill the speed to get around the trees without doing anything stupid like slipping over,” said Collett.
Jung jumped double clear to stay on his dressage score and inch into the lead.
With show jumping to decide the medals, EquiRating’s gives Jung 59% odds of taking the individual gold and Collett 27%. If the German wins in Paris, he’ll become the first rider in history to manage the three-peat in Olympic eventing.
But their’s no reason to believe Collett will make it easy for him.
The pair are well matched in every way that counts.
They’re both Olympic gold medalists
Jung took individual gold medal at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games with La Biosthetique Sam FBW. He also has an Olympic team gold (2012) and a team silver (2016). The German didn’t make the podium in 2021 at Tokyo, however, despite leading after dressage on Chipmunk FRH. The pair broke a frangible pin on cross country to finish eighth.
Collett is defending a team gold in Tokyo with London 52. It was her first Olympic appearance.
Both are on veteran mounts
High pressure moments test the strength of the partnership between horse and rider, so time together plays to a distinct advantage in a test of Olympic proportions. Both Jung and Collett check that box.
London 52 is Collett’s “horse of a lifetime.” Partnered since 2016, she developed the 15-year-old bay Holsteiner up the ranks and slowly—it took her four years to train him up to the 5* level. They’ve captured 12 international wins, including two 5* titles (Pau 2020 and Badminton 2022), to date.
Jung has also the benefit of time in the tack. He took over the ride on FischerChipmunk from countrywoman Julia Krajewski in 2019. The pair has earned 13 international victories, including the 5* Kentucky Three Day Event in Lexington and a team gold at the Pratoni World Championships, both in 2022.
Both are record setters
Jung and Chipmunk hold the record for lowest ever 5* finishing score with a 20.1 earned at the K3DE in 2022. The previous holder of that record: Collett and London 52, who won Pau in 2020 on a score of 21.3.
Both horses could be competing in their last championship
At 15 and 16 years of age, respectively, London 52 and Chipmunk could very well be contesting their final Olympic Games, if not final championship. What better swan song than an Olympic gold medal to cap their stellar careers?
It all comes down to Monday and two rounds of showjumping. The first round will determine the team podium and the second round, the individual podium.
Who are you rooting for?
