Sumo scare? Riders say horses might be spooked by statue Today 06:00 am JST Today | 06:44 am JST KAMIYOGA
Equestrian jumpers aren t keen on surprises. Neither are the horses, and it takes years of training to keep them from getting spooked.
Of course, no horse in Tuesday night s Olympic jumping qualifier had ever seen anything like obstacle No. 10.
“As you come around, you see a big guy’s (butt),” British rider Harry Charles said.
“There s a lot to look at,” Ireland s Cian O Connor added.
“It is very realistic,” echoed Israel s Teddy Vlock.
Riders say that a life-sized sumo wrestler positioned next to the 10th obstacle on the 14-jump Olympic course may have distracted several horses in qualifying for the individual jumping final Tuesday night. A few pairings pulled up short of the barrier, accumulating enough penalty points to prevent entry into Wednesday s finals.
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Diving
Earlier today, diver Tanya Watson made history in Tokyo as she became the first Irish female diver to compete at the Olympic Games.
A strong performance from the 19-year-old saw her qualify for the semi-finals of the women’s 10m platform, in 16th position with 289.4 points.
Tomorrow’s semi-final will see the top 18 scores from today’s 30 divers compete, with the top 12 from there contesting the final on Thursday.
Watson performed consistently across the five dives, and said she felt “great” after her Olympic debut.
“I feel great, and just excited to go out there again and do my dives and get through again tomorrow,” she said.
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