Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme win individual jumping gold at FEI World Championships Aachen 2026, Germany; first world title
Equestrian: FEI World Championships Aachen 2026: Steve Guerdat completes collection with individual world jumping title
Steve Guerdat completes collection with individual world jumping title: “Nothing gets bigger than Aachen”
Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme claimed individual jumping gold at the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 following five clear rounds.
It took five faultless rounds and a final test of his nerves for Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat to secure his first individual world title at the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 on Sunday (23 August).
The London 2012 Olympic champion and Paris 2024 silver medallist was last to enter the arena, and, riding Dynamix de Belheme, produced a fifth consecutive clear round, leaving their score untouched at just 0.86 penalties and delivering victory in style.
It completed an extraordinary collection for Guerdat, who arrived at these championships already boasting Olympic gold from London 2012, European gold from Milan 2023, three FEI Jumping World Cup Final victories (2015, 2016, 2019), and individual world championship bronze from 2018.
Joining him on the podium were the only other combinations to jump clear in both rounds of the individual final: Belgium’s Thibeau Spits , riding Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z, secured silver on 5.60 penalties, while Great Britain’s Harry Charles and LT Holst Freda took bronze on 7.17.
Course designer Frank Rothenberger (GER) ensured there would be no easy route to the podium.
With scores carried forward from the previous competitions, just 5.07 penalties separated the top 10 entering the final rounds, leaving virtually no margin for error.
And the two last rounds delivered. Rails fell, the leaderboard shifted, and the final fence proved particularly costly, with every mistake carrying the potential to transform the medal positions.
“My idea before we started was that I wanted a good champion , and that they should be the only one to jump five clear rounds,” Rothenberger explained. “And that happened.”
Only three combinations produced double clears on Sunday and, fittingly, all three finished on the podium.
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Steve Guerdat finally gets his Aachen moment
For all the titles, medals and major victories accumulated across his career, there was something about Aachen that continued to bother the Swiss rider. He had enjoyed success here before, but the top spot had always escaped him.
“There’s not one day in my life that Aachen doesn’t come to my mind,” the newly-crowned world champion said in the press conference. “I had a few good results here, but I was never able to win that Grand Prix, and that’s every day a disappointment for me."
Often described as the “Wimbledon of equestrian sport”, Aachen occupies a unique place in the sport, where more than a century of history, packed grandstands and one of its most prestigious arenas combine to make victory particularly coveted.
“It’s the history of our sport, and nothing gets bigger than Aachen ,” he explained. “The whole week I’ve been thinking more about winning Aachen, to be honest, than winning the world championship.
“Every year I look at that wall [of fame] 100 or 200 times, and I never see my name.”
Guerdat knew there was no guarantee he would arrive at another World Championships with a horse performing as well as Dynamix de Belheme , and that knowledge made for an “extremely nervous week”.
Those nerves disappeared only when the final fence was behind them.
“Once I jumped the last fence, all the emotion came up,” Guerdat said. “I have no words for it. I don’t really know what it means. I have what I wanted, and I’m somewhere now that I never dreamed of.”
Aachen’s famous atmosphere only added to the moment. Guerdat said competing in front of crowds like this is one of the reasons he continues to ride, ensuring that even after winning it all, he still has plenty of motivation.
For now, though, he simply wants to savour the moment, having admitted that he has not always allowed himself to fully celebrate his past achievements.
“I don’t think it gets any better than winning the world championship in Aachen.”
“Maybe you can try to organise the Olympic Games [here] one day, ” he joked. “Maybe that can top that.”
Equestrian | World Championships | Aachen | Germany