Disappointing finish for Derry's Daniel Coyle in the Paris Olympic show jumping final

Disappointment for Derry’s Daniel Coyle in the final of the show jumping final at the 2024 Olympics. 

In the qualifiers yesterday, Coyle qualified as the third fastest for the final with no errors.

However, unfortunately, the Ardmore man decided to retire his horse Legacy during the final. 

Getting off to a fine start in the final before four consecutive jumps incurred penalties, Coyle’s hopes of a medal had faded, and so the Derry athlete decided to retire. 

It is a disappointing conclusion to the Derry Man’s Olympics after performing every event to this point perfectly and without mistake. 

Coyle was one of three competitors, Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa and Japan’s Haase Shibayama Takashi, to retire in the final, while two others were eliminated: Mexico’s Andres Azcarraga and Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann. 

The French crowd at Versailles were disheartened after they created a lively atmosphere as their hopeful, Julien Epaillard, finished fourth despite having the quickest time, but his penalty ensured he would miss out on a medal. 

The German Christian Kukuk claimed gold; Swiss athlete Steve Guerdat won silver, and Maikel van der Vleuten from the Netherlands won bronze.