Germany's Jung wins eventing as Australian underdog steals show

German eventing rider Michael Jung won his fourth Olympic gold medal on Monday after beating his main challengers Christopher Burton from Australia and Briton Laura Collett in the final showjumping contest.

Jung, riding on his bay Hanover gelding Chipmunk, won the three-day competition combining dressage, cross-country and showjumping with a final score of 21.8 penalty points, ahead of Burton with 22.4 and Collett with 23.1. All three had perfect rides incurring no additional penalties during the last jumpoff.

Securing his third individual Olympics win after London 2012 and Rio 2016, Jung managed to follow up on an outstanding dressage score on Saturday with a perfectly timed cross-country ride and two flawless jumping performances the following days.

The Versailles medal was the first Jung has won with Chipmunk, a horse the Bavarian took over in 2019 from fellow German Olympian Julia Krajewski, who finished 11th, with the help of his financial backers.

"I know him, he knows me; we mastered it together," Jung, who is often described as the discipline's greatest by his eventing peers, told journalists, the gold medal dangling around his neck.

Jung earlier said he would "coddle and pamper" his partner ahead of the jumping final with a good portion of carrots.

While the German was seen as the main favourite for the title, Australian underdog Burton, ranked 151 internationally, shocked the crowd by beating most of the sport's heavyweights on Shadow Man, a horse with no notable international track record.

"I spotted him years ago. I always knew he was that good, I tried twice to buy him", Burton, who ended up leasing the chestnut gelding from a colleague, told journalists, adding:

"Isn't he a machine, isn't he a delight... I honestly can't believe it."

The silver was his first individual Olympic medal, after he won team bronze in Rio 2016.

Briton Laura Collett on Saturday had set a new Olympic eventing dressage record with London 52 who she said was the horse of her lifetime, but she was unable to defend the top spot throughout the competition.

Collett's fellow British riders Ros Canter and Tom McEwen - who were also seen as top tickets for individual medals - also failed to reach the podium although they together won the nations' competition.