Isabell Werth World No. 1 Rider, 6th Highest Medal Ranked Athlete in 128 Years Olympic History
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Aug. 8, 2024
Isabell Werth, at Paris moving higher into sixth all-time Olympic athlete medal winner, has become No. 1 dressage rider in the latest rankings by the International Equestrian Federation as of the end of July.
Germany’s Isabell on Wendy displaced team mate Jessica von Bredow-Werndl but whose double gold medal mount TSF Dalera BB held on to the top horse spot.
The latest rankings including all Olympic results–the qualifying Grand Prix that was won by Germany as was the Grand Prix Special team competition while Jessica and Dalera claimed individual gold with Isabell taking silver.
However, with Isabell’s rank of sixth since the beginning of modern Olympics in 1896 her total of eight golds and six silvers for a total of 14 medals places her behind American swimmer Katie Ledecky, also with 14 but nine gold, four silver and one bronze. The next highest ranked equestrian is Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands in 59th place.
Jessica, the Tokyo double gold medalist, did not compete in advance competitions such as the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany three weeks ahead of Paris and in which Isabell on the 10-year-old mare Wendy became Dressage Champion.
Charlotte “Lottie” Fry on her 2022 World Champion Glamourdale were both ranked third.
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep that pulled out of the Games days before Paris after a video appeared days before the Games that showed the British rider smacking with a whip the hind leg of a horse in a private clinic more than two years ago were ranked fourth. The riders has been suspended from competition.
Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere jumped to fifth from 13th place a month earlier, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark climbed one spot to sixth, fellow Dane Nanna Skotborg Merrald was seventh, Patrik Kittel of Sweden dropped two places to eighth while Britain’s Carl Hester moved up to ninth from 10th and Emmelie Scholtens of the Netherlands completed the top 10 standings.
USA’s Anna Marek of Dunnellon, Florida in Europe as a member of the Olympic short list was the top ranked American rider at No. 32 in the world.
Complete rankings of riders available at: https://data.fei.org/Ranking/Search.aspx?rankingCode=D_WR_A
For horses: https://data.fei.org/Ranking/Search.aspx?rankingCode=D_WR_H_2
