‘I can’t believe it’ – Shocking footage shows moment Olympic showjumper is thrown from horse and into obstacle
Olympics showjumper Henrik von Eckermann was thrown into an obstacle after being chucked off by his horse.
Shocking footage of the incident has gone viral with the Swede narrowly avoiding a serious injury.
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World No1 Von Eckermann had reached the showjumping final at the Paris Olympics, but started the event looking somewhat ropey.
He could not keep his horse King Edward in line, which saw the 14-year-old drift towards an obstacle.
The gelding stopped suddenly, throwing him off the saddle and into the obstacle at wicked speed.
Speaking on Eurosport, commentator Richard Vaughan said: “I can’t believe it.
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“Something was not right. He looked a bit odd yesterday.
"I thought they did very well to scramble round, but it has all fallen apart.
“It was unravelling earlier on. They got over the big double then the water seemed OK, but then after that the horse seemed to run away.”
While Von Eckermann was eliminated in shock fashion as the favourite to claim gold, he did manage to get to his feet and was thankfully OK.
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Only days before he won gold in Paris in the team competition for Sweden.
Von Eckermann, who has been number one in the world for two years in showjumping, was not the only one to struggle in the final.
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Andres Azcarraga clung onto his horse for dear life to avoid being launched into the water just 30 seconds into his ride.
As the Mexican approached the water hazard, his horse Contendros 2 started to jump before turning sharply to his side.
It saw Azcarraga fly from his saddle but he managed to hold onto the reins, as he kept his body from splashing into the water and just his feet were submerged.
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Eurosport's Sarah Rust said: “That’s a pretty nasty filler on the front of the water.
"Most of the time when you are coming to water it’s either open or the filler on the front is solid.
"But this one has a gap and the horses can see the water glinting. It’s not the nicest.”
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