The battle for the European Championships medals in the ladies individual classification is extremely close. Today, the third of the four competitions was staged in Aachen's Deutsche Bank Stadium, the technical test. The rankings at the top of the field were turned upside down. Up until now, Corinna Knauf from Cologne had dominated the competitions of the ladies, however, in today's technical routine after being awarded a score of 7.461, she had to make do with fifth place. She had a wobbler right at the beginning of her performance. She didn't perform as confidently or as harmoniously as she did in the previous competitions. Today, the Swiss vaulter, Simone Jäiser, proved to be in top form. To the music of the well-known Russian folk song, Kalinka, the 29-year-old gave an immaculate and very expressive performance. Her score: 8.100, which brought her the victory in the technical test. "I was more relaxed today than on the days before," she explained. "I tried not to perceive the noise and the shouting while entering the arena as stress, but instead tried to transform it into positive energy." Jäiser claimed the bronze medal at the World Equestrian Games last year, she explained cheerfully after the technical programme: "To also win a medal here at the European Championships is the goal - but I'll be quite happy to accept more." Today, second place went to Christine Kuhirt from Werne. The 26-year-old was awarded a score of 8.057, which put her ahead of the Austrian vaulter, Lisa Wild, who scored 7.843. After three of the four European Championship rounds, the interim ranking is as follows: Simone Jäiser is in the lead with a total score of 8.205, ahead of Lisa Wild (8.125) and Corinna Knauf (8.124). Precisely one thousandth of a point separates the silver and bronze medals at the moment and there is less than a tenth of a point between all three vaulters, who are currently on course to win a medal. The German national coach, Ulla Ramge, seems to have been proven right. Already in the run-up to the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015, she predicted: "It is going to be particularly close among the ladies, the respective form on the day will be decisive. The top ranks are very homogeneous." Which is exactly what happened. The final freestyle round on Sunday will be all-decisive.
The battle for the European Championships medals in the ladies individual classification is extremely close. Today, the third of the four competitions was staged in Aachen's Deutsche Bank Stadium, the technical test. The rankings at the top of the field were turned upside down. Up until now, Corinna Knauf from Cologne had dominated the competitions of the ladies, however, in today's technical routine after being awarded a score of 7.461, she had to make do with fifth place. She had a wobbler right at the beginning of her performance. She didn't perform as confidently or as harmoniously as she did in the previous competitions. Today, the Swiss vaulter, Simone Jäiser, proved to be in top form. To the music of the well-known Russian folk song, Kalinka, the 29-year-old gave an immaculate and very expressive performance. Her score: 8.100, which brought her the victory in the technical test. "I was more relaxed today than on the days before," she explained. "I tried not to perceive the noise and the shouting while entering the arena as stress, but instead tried to transform it into positive energy." Jäiser claimed the bronze medal at the World Equestrian Games last year, she explained cheerfully after the technical programme: "To also win a medal here at the European Championships is the goal - but I'll be quite happy to accept more." Today, second place went to Christine Kuhirt from Werne. The 26-year-old was awarded a score of 8.057, which put her ahead of the Austrian vaulter, Lisa Wild, who scored 7.843. After three of the four European Championship rounds, the interim ranking is as follows: Simone Jäiser is in the lead with a total score of 8.205, ahead of Lisa Wild (8.125) and Corinna Knauf (8.124). Precisely one thousandth of a point separates the silver and bronze medals at the moment and there is less than a tenth of a point between all three vaulters, who are currently on course to win a medal. The German national coach, Ulla Ramge, seems to have been proven right. Already in the run-up to the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015, she predicted: "It is going to be particularly close among the ladies, the respective form on the day will be decisive. The top ranks are very homogeneous." Which is exactly what happened. The final freestyle round on Sunday will be all-decisive.