VETERAN equestrian William Fox-Pitt fell out of medal contention after a poor day at the Rio Olympics… but knows he’s lucky to be in Brazil at all.
The 47-year-old is at his fifth Olympic games just 10 months after a fall at a competition in France left him in a two week coma.
Fox-Pitt, who a bronze medal in Beijing and silver medals in Athens and London, endured a tough day that ultimately left him out of medal contention in the individual eventing.
Leading overnight, Fox-Pitt and his mount Chilli Morning started the day well, clearing the first 19 fences of the cross-country course with ease.
But on the 20th fence the horse, one of the best in the world, refused to jump.
Fox-Pitt said: “It is my fault entirely – I went too quickly for him.
“I think I knew I had to go forward but he was going quicker than I thought and there was no way I could have turned him.
“He didn’t do anything wrong.”
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The pair were hit with a 20 point penalty and then another 10.4 time penalty points as they attempted to correct their error.
The mistake saw them fall to 15th in the leaderboard with only the show jumping round to come – there is a sliver of hope but only if other riders make critical mistakes of their own.
His lead had been the best of Team GB but with Australia and France performing well the best Britain can hope for is bronze.
Fox-Pitt only returned to competitive action in April after being put in a coma after suffering head trauma in October.
During a lengthy rehabilitation process, Fox-Pitt was unable to drive for several months and couldn’t climb his stairs at home.
He revealed to the Evening Standard that the news had hit his daughter, Channel 4 presenter Alice Plunkett, the hardest.
“I was unconscious for two weeks, but I think I suffered the least. I was oblivious to it. My poor family had to deal with the condition I was in.
“It was very difficult for Alice.
“She didn’t know if she was going to have a dad for her children, she didn’t know whether, if she did have a dad for her children, whether he’d be any good.
“She’s been a huge support through my recovery and is very supportive of my ambition for Rio.
“I certainly couldn’t have done it without her.”
Speaking ahead of the event, Fox-Pitt had said that he was just “lucky to be here”.
But his words were rather more sombre following his medal-blowing mistake.
“I hope he jumps well tomorrow, but it is not important anymore.
“I think we will be clutching any chances we have got.
“I think we will not be in that envious position of defending a gold medal.
“We are just going to be doing our best and hope the horses feel good.”
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