Sweden edged out Jessica Springsteen and the U.S. jumping team in a jump off for the gold medal.
Springsteen
and teammates Laura Kraut and McLain Ward each moved cleanly through
the shortened jump-off course and did so with a combined time of 124.2
seconds.
Peder
Fredricson, the final Swedish rider, needed to circle the track in 40.30
seconds or better without error and cruised to a time of 39.01 for the
country’s record fourth gold medal but first since 1924. The Americans
also entered this week with three golds.
France
had a clear line to a second straight gold when its final rider,
Penelope Leprevost, took the course. Needing to finish with fewer than
five points to win without a jump off, Leprevost’s horse refused twice,
disqualifying her and the rest of the French team.
That left the Americans and Swedes tied for the lead with eight penalties apiece, necessitating the jump off.
Springsteen, the daughter of rockers Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfia, gets a silver in her Olympic debut.
AP Wires Services were used in this report.