FEI TV – enjoy LIVE programming, highlights, interviews and archive footage at www.feitv.org.
Barcelona (ESP), 25 September 2011 – The Swedish team came out the winners at the Promotional League Final in Barcelona, Spain this afternoon and will now rejoin the elite eight-nation FEI Nations Cup series in 2012. But, on a roller-coaster afternoon, it took a monumental effort from last-line Swedish rider Rolf-Goran Bengtsson to seal the coveted qualifying spot.
Despite the fact that three of the opposing sides were reduced to just three team-members, and were therefore unable to discount one performance, the four-strong Swedish team relied heavily on the man who, just seven days ago, claimed the Individual gold medal at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid.
The host nation of Spain finished second, with just a single-fault advantage over The Ukraine in third, while the Canadians lined up fourth ahead of the Italians who looked threatening to the very end but who had to settle for fifth in the final analysis. The last two places in the seven-nation line-up were filled by Poland and Russia, each hampered when fielding just three riders, but showing flashes of form that would suggest their time will come in future years.
For the Swedes, today’s result was an enormous relief. Last Sunday, Bengtsson pointed out during the final press conference in Madrid that, despite his personal triumph and the Olympic qualification earned through the fifth-place finish in the FEI European Team Championship, there was still another big job to be done this weekend in Barcelona. So for the 49 year old newly-crowned European champion and reigning Olympic silver medallist it was a case of “mission accomplished” as, ably supported by Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Angelica Augustsson and Svante Johansson, he helped restore his country to its rightful place in the premiership of team Jumping. “I’m very happy,” he said with his usual degree of understatement this evening.
Continue reading Sweden Wins FEI Promotional League Final in Barcelona Cliff-Hanger