Harry Charles confirmed his place as one of the new stars of British equestrian by winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the showjumping team, having been toughened up by previous disappointment.
It was a glorious second Olympic experience for Harry, 25, as he won gold alongside Ben Maher and Scott Brash, who had been team-mates of his father, Peter, when they stood on top of the podium in London 2012.
In doing so, Peter and Harry became the first father-and-son combination to both win gold medals for Team GB since 1948, but Harry’s previous Olympic experience in Tokyo three years ago wasn’t quite as smooth.
He travelled to Japan as a reserve, but the then-22-year-old was thrown into the action in the individual jumping event as replacement for Molly Smith and reached the final before retiring midway through what was a difficult run on board Romeo 88.
The pairing was then parachuted into the team event after an injury to Brash’s horse, Hello Jefferson, and finished 10th alongside Maher and Smith.
Harry said: “I definitely would not have been here, and not been able to win a medal, without that experience in Tokyo.
“That for me was a big learning curve. I am very grateful for that experience even if at the time, it did not go exactly how I saw it going
“We did not have the round we wanted [in the individual final] and then we had to go back again for the team event.
“I walked the course and I remember thinking I did not want to ride, but my dad said I had to do it, it will make me.
“He says it was a defining moment in my career, we could have gone in there and crumbled but actually we came out with not a bad score in the team final – and that was my last round.
“I felt we left on a really good note and from there, my career has taken off. I have had some great wins and it was a making moment for me, I think.”
Harry’s performances with Romeo 88 in Paris were all the more impressive considering he suffered a minor fracture to his arm just four weeks before he was due to compete at the Olympics.
The incident came during the CHIO Aachen festival in Germany early in July when he was unseated after the horse he was riding, Bandit, lost a shoe in the middle of a combination and stumbled on landing.
Peter, 64, had no doubt his son would recover in time, however, saying: “The road has been a bit bumpy, especially in the month leading up to Paris.
“But we have good training techniques and the horse was in good shape, even when we fell off and broke the arm.
“I was not too worried, there were other people far more worried than me. I knew Harry was fine and would be fine.”
After winning his first Olympic gold medal, Harry entered the individual event the following week and comfortably came through qualifying to reach the final.
He then, unfortunately, had to pull out due to an injury to Romeo 88, but Harry has no regrets about his experiences in Paris.
He said: “I am not disappointed we could not run in the individual event, he went home with a gold medal and in great shape.
“We did what we came to do. I would have liked to go but hopefully I will get a couple of more goes in the future.
“It was an incredible week, it was the experience of a lifetime. To win an Olympic gold medal is every athlete’s dream and to do it in the manner that we did it, being the only team to have three clear rounds, was special.”
Great Britain were not tipped to win gold in team jumping by experts before the event and the result even came as a surprise to Peter, despite the belief he had in his son and former team-mates.
UNBELIEVABLE!
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 2, 2024
In the most unlikely of circumstances, Britain have gold!! 🥇#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/ciRTxjpe42
He said: “Did I expect a medal from the team event? Yes. Gold was a bonus, bronze I thought we’d squeak.
“We had no star horse, no Big Star or Explosion W, in the team but three very good horses.
“We said the night before, all the lads, we had a talk about it and they knew they had to ride to their ability and the horses all had to give their maximum.
“That is what happened, no rider made a real mistake – yes, a time fault here or there – but the fence did not fall.
“It was always going to be close, and then a gold medal was the way it went. I was super proud.”