NZ horsemen Todd, Nicholson named to 7th Olympics
Associated Press, Wellington, New Zealand | Sports | Wed, July 04 2012, 7:09 AM
Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson will compete at their seventh Olympics after being named in New Zealand's five-strong equestrian team for the London Games on Wednesday.
Todd won back-to-back gold medals in the three-day event at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Olympics. He has twice won world championships in the three-day team event and is a four-time winner of the Badminton Horse Trials and a five-time winner at Burghley.
Nicholson won a silver medal in the three-day teams event at the 1992 Barcelona Games and a bronze in the same event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
He is also a former world champion in the teams event.
The 56-year-old Todd will ride the 11-year-old German-bred horse Campino in the testing three-day event, which comprises dressage, cross-country and showjumping. Nicholson, 50, will ride the 10-year-old Nereo on which he won the bronze medal in the individual event at the 2010 world championships.
"The pinnacle for me is an Olympic gold," Nicholson said. "If I can arrive at the Olympics with Nereo in the stage he should be in, then I am confident we will be competitive with the best and in with a good chance of winning.
"There are some very good combinations from Britain, Germany, Italy, Australia, America and the list goes on. But I do have an awful lot of faith in Nereo."
The New Zealand team also includes Scotland-based Caroline Powell, who will be attending her second Olympics, and Jonelle Richards.
Todd, at 56 years and 149 days, will become New Zealand's second-oldest Olympian after William Swinnerton who was 56 years and 335 days when he competed in sailing at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
He was first selected to ride for New Zealand at the 1980 Moscow Olympics but missed that opportunity when New Zealand joined a boycott of the games. He competed in 1984, 1988 and 1992, 1996 and 2000 but missed the 2004 Athens Olympics during a brief retirement. Todd returned to compete at the 2008 Beijing Games.
His and Nicholson's seventh games are a New Zealand record.
