British team confident rider’s ‘very small’ fracture will be healed for Olympics
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The British selectors and officials are confident Harry Charles will be fit and on form for the Paris Olympics as the arm fracture he sustained at Aachen the weekend before last was a minor one.
Harry was unseated from Bandit in the RWE Prize of North-Rhine Westphalia on Friday, 5 July, when the nine-year-old stumbled after the last element of the triple combination.
Harry went to hospital in Aachen, then saw a specialist, through the British Equestrian World Class Programme, on his return to Britain, who diagnosed a “very small” and “quick-healing” fracture.
He and his Tokyo Olympic ride Romeo 88, owned by Harry and Ann Thompson, were named in the final squad for Paris last week, along with Scott Brash (Hello Jefferson) and Ben Maher (Point Break). Joe Stockdale and Cacharel are the alternate combination.
Harry shared a picture of himself in the saddle this week, with the phrase “back to it, see you in Paris”, and H&H understands that as of today (17 July) his healing is on track for a positive outcome.
The showjumping at the Paris Olympics starts on Thursday, 1 August with the first team qualifier; the team final is the following day. The individual qualifier and final are on Monday and Tuesday, 5 and 6 August.
This will be a second Olympics for Harry, who jumped in Tokyo with Romeo 88. The pair also helped secure Britain’s place in Paris as part of the team that won bronze at the World Championships in 2022.
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