TOM McEwen was denied Olympic double gold – despite the jumping rounds of his life.
McEwen, who rents stable at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire from Princess Anne, was the star of the GB show as world number one Oliver Townend and Laura Collett both crumbled under the pressure.
Townend, overnight leader after the cross country phase of the three-day event, lost top spot to Germany’s Julia Krajewski when he knocked off a single rail entering a double fence in the final ride of the team competition.
It was not enough to deny Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen Britain’s first eventing gold since the team led by Richard Meade won in Munich in 1972.
But the error meant Townend had to go clear in the tougher individual jump two hours later and hope that Krajewski made an error.
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Instead, he knocked down his second fence, a simple upright, to fall out of medal contention.
That left McEwen, who went clear in both rounds apart from picking up 0.4 time faults in the individual final, in the box seat if Krajewski made a single error.
But the 32-year-old German was perfect on her mount Amande De B’Neville.
