Holstein fails to make cut

Heike Holstein crashed out of the Olympic dressage yesterday, reports Grania Willis from Sydney. After a disappointing performance from the inexperienced Ballaseyr Royale, Holstein finished 42nd of the 47 starters, missing the top-25 cut she needed to qualify for Friday's Grand Prix Speciale.

A mistake in the extended canter, when the 10-year-old Danish mare changed after slipping on the shifting ground, caused tension for the rest of the test, resulting in a mark of 1,569 (62.76 per cent). That left Kildare-based Holstein a long way off the pace and out of the Games after just seven minutes in the Olympic arena.

"I'm very disappointed", 28-year-old Holstein said after her test. "She doesn't normally make mistakes and it was a pity she had to do it here. She was word perfect up until that, but then she got tense and reverted to the way she used to go last year." As a result, further tension crept in and the mare made another error in the two-time canter changes and in the final piaffe movement. But not all the judges put her down, with the marks showing a 31-point discrepancy between the best and the worst. Eric Lette, the most senior of the five judges, gave Holstein an overall mark of 330, equivalent to 66 per cent, but American Axel Steiner awarded just 299 marks. "Lette's mark would have been good enough, even with the mistakes," Holstein said. "If I'd had five Lettes I would've been sorted."

It was a disappointing and abrupt finish to Holstein's Olympics, but she now plans to re-think her winter campaign. "I hadn't anything planned before this, because this was what I was aiming for. But I'll probably take the three horses on the World Cup circuit this winter."

Yesterday's Grand Prix was also the team decider, with Germany once again sweeping to gold. This was the ninth Olympic title for the Germans, who started their dominance of the dressage world at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and have missed out only once since, when they boycotted the Moscow Games in 1980.

The weather once again left the combined fleets of the Olympic Sailing regatta in no doubt as to its power over the games as all racing was cancelled yesterday. Thunder and lightning left little or no breeze on any of the five course areas as crews got an early start at preparing for the end of the series this weekend. The Star keelboats and Finn single-handers now race on the ocean course today, tomorrow and again on Saturday for the single race final. The Europe class were on a scheduled rest day and sailing resumes with races nine and ten today and the final tomorrow. Irish team officials remain optimistic that top 10 finishes by all three Irish boats can be achieved.

Gary Mawer finished last of the eight competitors in his heat of the K1 500 metres event with a time of one minute 49.70 seconds.