Equestrian at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Individual dressage

The individual dressage at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July and 1 August at the Trade Unions' Equestrian Complex.[1]

Individual dressage
at the Games of the XXII Olympiad
Elisabeth Theurer and Mon Cherie
VenueTrade Unions' Equestrian Complex
Date31 July – 1 August
Competitors14 from 6 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Elisabeth Theurer  Austria
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Yuri Kovshov  Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Viktor Ugryumov  Soviet Union
← 1976
1984 →

The competition was split into two phases:

  1. Grand Prix (31 July)
    Riders performed the Grand Prix test. The twelve riders with the highest scores advanced to the final.
  2. Grand Prix Special (1 August)
    Riders performed the Grand Prix Special test.

Competition edit

Of the 14 starters in the individual competition, only two of them came from west-block nations – Elisabeth Theurer of Austria and Kyra Kyrklund of Finland.[2]

Team competition served as the individual qualifier. In the Grand Prix Special, in which only two riders of the Grand Prix class were not allowed to take part, the difference of quality became even more pronounced. Theurer, Kyrklund and the three Soviet riders were the only ones who managed to score more than 1000 points. Theurer's gold medal however was never in danger and with a classy performance she received 1370 points, almost double as much as the last placed rider from Romania in this individual competition.

Theurer received criticism for deciding to go to Moscow instead of Goodwood, which hosted the Olympic Festival for west-block nations. Without much support from the Austrian Federation, her horse Mon Cherie was flown to Moscow by Niki Lauda.[3]

Results edit

Rank Rider Horse Grand Prix Grand Prix Special
Points Rank Points
    Elisabeth Theurer (AUT) Mon Cherie 1623 1 1370
    Yuri Kovshov (URS) Igrok 1588 2 1300
    Viktor Ugryumov (URS) Shkval 1541 3 1234
4   Vera Misevich (URS) Plot 1254 6 1231
5   Kyra Kyrklund (FIN) Piccolo 1458 4 1121
6   Anghel Donescu (ROU) Dor 1255 5 960
7   Georgi Gadzhev (BUL) Vnimatelen 1146 9 881
8   Svetoslav Ivanov (BUL) Aleko 1190 8 850
9   Petar Mandajiev (BUL) Schibor 1244 7 846
10   Józef Zagor (POL) Helios 1061 11 804
11   Petre Roşca (ROU) Derbist 1015 12 741
12   Dumitru Velicu (ROU) Decebal 1076 10 720
13   Elżbieta Morciniec (POL) Sum 954 13 Did not advance
14   Wanda Wąsowska (POL) Damask 930 14 Did not advance

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Equestrianism at the 1980 Moscow Equestrian Games: Mixed Dressage, Individual". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  2. ^ "An Affair to Remember: the 1980 Olympic Games". Eurodressage. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  3. ^ "An Affair to Remember: the 1980 Olympic Games - Three Perspectives". Eurodressage. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.