IRISH SHOW JUMPERS Daniel Coyle and Shane Sweetnam have not been successful at the Olympic show jumping individual final after both riders failed to have a clear run at the Paris games.

Though both riders had good starts on the tough course, with over one-and-a-half metre jumps from the get-go, at the Château de Versailles, their performances fell apart near the end.

The competition has proven tougher as three riders – Germany’s Christian Kukuk, the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat – are currently jumping off for gold as all three had clear runs.

Both Irish riders had their runs towards the end of the competition.

This put greater pressure on Coyle. Despite having a near-perfect run at his first-ever Olympics, it toppled on the very last line when his horse, Legacy, hit the rails four times successively. Coyle and Legacy retired at the last fence.

Similarly, Sweetnam had a strong start but the back-to-back jumps on the fourth line proved tough for his horse, James Kann Cruz, who hit the rails on two out of the three jumps.

Coyle and Sweetnam ended up with 16 and 12 penalties, respectively.

Though the disappointing result, Sweetnam and Coyle produced clear runs to book their place in the final of the individual show jumping yesterday – that can’t be taken away. 

The42 will bring you the latest breaking stories and sharp analysis on the Olympic Games in Paris today and for the remainder of the games.