Stubborn horse costs Germany’s Schleu shot at modern pentathlon gold

The Associated Press, Nexstar Media Wire

Updated: Aug 6, 2021 / 10:45 AM CDT

Annika Schleu of Germany cries as she couldn’t controls her horse to compete in the equestrian portion of the women’s modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

TOKYO (AP) — A horse that refused to jump dashed the hopes of gold medal contender Annika Schleu in the Olympic modern pentathlon.

Schleu, of Germany, was leading the contest after two events, but in the showjumping event, she was allocated a horse that had no interest in jumping the fences.

Competitors are randomly assigned horses for the event and expected to bond with them quickly.

The gold medal went to Britain’s Kate French after she held off a challenge from Lithuanian Laura Asadauskaite in the final event, the laser run.

Sarolta Kovacs won bronze for Hungary.