FOUR years ago, German maestro Michael Jung lost the individual gold medal at the World Championships when knocking the last fence, so last Sunday’s victory was redemption in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Aachen.

The individual title came down to a battle between eventing greats in Sunday’s show jumping phase, with the smallest mistake capable of reshaping the podium. Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH began with trademark composure, but two light touches had the packed stands holding their breath before both poles stayed in place.

From there, the pair never looked back, producing a superb clear to remain on their dressage score of 23.0 penalties. As they crossed the finish, the stadium rose in a standing ovation for a fairytale home victory.

“He was jumping amazingly,” Jung said. “Normally a double of verticals at the end of the course is not Chipmunk’s favourite thing, but he was super. And you need luck on your side.”

The 23.0 winning score is the lowest at an eventing World Championship since 1980 and delivers Jung a record-extending fifth individual gold at an Olympic Games or World Championship. Since first taking the World title in Kentucky (USA) in 2010, nine global Championships have been contested and Jung has won five of them.

For fischerChipmunk FRH, the win adds another gold to an exceptional collection of accolades for the 18-year-old gelding. The reigning Olympic champion is also a two-time European individual silver medallist, in 2019 and 2025, while victory in Aachen finally settled unfinished business from Pratoni 2022, where he and Jung led until the final fence.

“I’m speechless. Chipmunk is unbelievable,” said Jung. “He’s doing great dressage, running fast cross-country and jumping like a [pure] show jumping horse: careful, powerful and athletic. It’s a dream to ride him.”

Winning on home soil made the moment even more meaningful. “Aachen is always very special. It’s a big thing being in your home country,” he added. “To have all the disciplines together makes it much more special, so much adrenaline and the stadium has such a cool atmosphere. I was definitely emotional at the end.”

Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH won individual gold at the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 \ Tomas Holcbecher

Up and down year

Ros Canter also finished on her dressage score (23.4) and added the individual silver to team gold. She said it was a lovely ending to a challenging year. “It feels very, very special, actually. We know that Walter is getting known for [being] one of the best of all time and, every time I ride him, the pressure builds in an atmosphere like this.

“I know we’ve won a lot, but I think I get to know him better each time. He’s just the most wonderful horse. We’re incredibly lucky. His owners too - they’ve been fantastic supporters of me and many other riders, and they thoroughly deserve to have a horse like Walter.”

Canter added: “This year for us has been quite up and down as a family. We lost my dad. I’ve had a baby and it’s all come quite quickly. And at the start of the week, it was all a little bit of a blur, to be quite honest. I was struggling a little bit to get into the swing of it, but the more the competition’s gone on, you just can’t help but get excited by not just being here, but being part of Team GB because the atmosphere in the camp is just incredible.”

Laura Collett added bronze to her individual Olympic bronze (Paris 2024) and European gold (Blenheim 2025) with London 52 on a final score of 28. USA’s Will Coleman scored 30 in the dressage to sit in 21st place and that is the score he finished with to slot into fourth, just two marks off the podium. Frenchman Gaspard Maksud added only two time penalties in the show jumping with Zaragoza to finish fifth (30.9), ahead of the legendary 67-year-old Andrew Hoy from Australia, who won a bronze medal at the venue 20 years ago when it last hosted the World Championships.