Steve Guerdat wins individual showjumping world title in Aachen on 0.86 penalties

Five clean rounds in Aachen

Steve Guerdat of Switzerland won the individual showjumping world title on Sunday at the Soers stadium in Aachen, Germany. Riding his 13-year-old mare Dynamix de Belheme, the 44-year-old rider concluded the five-round championship with 0.86 penalty points. The tournament format began with Wednesday's opening speed phase, followed by two team competition rounds on Thursday and Friday. The top 25 horse-and-rider combinations returned for the first round on Sunday, with the top 12 advancing to the final round. Dynamix de Belheme was the only horse among 145 starters to complete all five rounds without lowering a rail. Belgium's Thibeau Spits took silver on Impress-K van't Kattenheye Z with 5.60 penalties, while Great Britain's Harry Charles secured bronze on LT Holst Freda with 7.17.

Four championship titles completed

The win made Guerdat the first rider in showjumping to win individual titles across the Olympic Games, the World Championship, the European Championship, and the World Cup Final. He previously took Olympic individual gold in London in 2012 on Nino des Buissonnets, Olympic silver in Paris in 2024, the European title in 2023 with Dynamix de Belheme, and three World Cup finals. He also became the first Swiss rider to win the individual world title in showjumping. Guerdat spoke after his decisive round before 40,000 spectators in the Aachen stadium.

I was extremely nervous the whole week because I thought this might be my last shot at it. It's not all the time that you have a horse like Dynamix in this form.

I don't have the words. I'm just coming down now. My team right deserve this medal as much as I do, and my horse.

Return from two spinal surgeries

The championship victory came 11 months after Guerdat underwent his second back surgery in 2025. Back pain worsened during the Gothenburg competition in February 2025, where Guerdat lost feeling in his right leg and struggled to walk. A herniated disc required surgery that ruled him out of the April 2025 World Cup Final in Basel. After returning to competition at the CSIO St. Gallen in June 2025, neurological symptoms recurred, leading to a second operation in September 2025 after non-surgical therapies failed. The rehabilitation period put operational pressure on his equestrian yard in Elgg, Switzerland, where he employs more than 10 staff members.

Tournament standings and Olympic spots

Germany led the overall medal table with 20 medals across all disciplines, drawing 500,000 spectators to Aachen across the event. The German jumping squad won team gold and placed three riders in the top ten individual standings, with Daniel Deusser finishing joint seventh after sharing the lead into Sunday. German equestrian federation head Dennis Peiler confirmed that Germany secured 2028 Olympic qualification in jumping, dressage, and eventing. Defending world champion Henrik von Eckermann did not make Sunday's final, while the Netherlands finished 13th in the team competition and missed direct qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics.