Meath showjumper falls short of medal standard

Meath showjumper Cian O'Connor chalked up an impressive clear round today in the Tokyo Olympics - however he ended up losing out a medal and finished in joint seventh place.

O'Connor was the first Irish rider to take part in the Individual showjumping final and he put in a superb showing guiding his horse Kilkenny around the course without any jump penalties - although he did get caught for time.

O'Connor crossed the line in 88.45, less than half a second beyond the allotted 88 seconds and he picked up a single penalty point for that showing.

That ended up costing him dearly as the chase for glory in the Individual discipline really hotted up. O'Connor was in third place at one stage but he faded down the rankings and missed out on the jump-off for the medals.

The two other Irish participants in the final - Bertram Allen and Darragh Kenny - also missed out on medal glory.

While O'Connor finished joint seventh, Kenny, who had eight penalty points, ended in 17th place and Bertram Allen, who also had eight penalty points finished 15th.

Afterwards O'Connor confirmed that he won't compete in the team event on Friday as Kilkenny has picked up a minor injury. He said the horse (who had a nosebleed today) has been cleared to compete but wishes to be mindful of the animal's welfare.