Paralympics: Michèle George wins gold in grade V dressage
Belgian dressage rider Michèle George won the gold medal with her horse Best of 8 in the individual test of grade V at the Paralympic Games on Wednesday.
Competing in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, George achieved a score of 76.692 per cent, securing a clear victory over Germany's Regine Mispelkamp, who scored 73.231 per cent, and Britain's Sophie Wells, who received 72.257 per cent.
Belgium's Kevin Van Ham also competed in the event, finishing sixth with a score of 69.692 per cent on his horse Eros van ons Heem. This strong performance qualified Van Ham as the second Belgian rider to advance to the individual freestyle competition, reserved for the top eight competitors.
This victory marks yet another triumph for 50-year-old George, who is competing in her fourth Paralympics. Her impressive career includes three Olympic titles in the freestyle test from London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. She also won gold in the individual test at both the London and Tokyo Games.
Van Ham, who made his Paralympic debut three years ago in Tokyo, previously finished seventh in the individual test and eighth in the freestyle competition.
This latest achievement brings Belgium's medal count at the Paralympics to seven. The team's earlier successes include gold for wheelchair sprinter Maxime Carabin in the 400m T52 class, three silver medals for Ewoud Vromant in the 3km pursuit and time trial in C2 and Maxime Hordies in the H1 time trial, plus two bronze medals for wheelchair sprinter Peter Genyn (T51) and cyclist Tim Celen in the T1-2 time trial.
Michèle George © PHOTO IMAGO
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