Babington turns thoughts to Friday
Carrick-on-Suir native Kevin Babington admitted that the pressure got to him in last night's show jumping team final, but, having qualified joint-fifth for the individual decider, his thoughts have zoned in on Friday's medal hunt.
"I felt more pressure today, definitely," said Babington, whose mount Carling King had two clears in the opening two qualification rounds but ,under the severe lights of the Markopoulo centre, incurred five penalties for a fence down and a finish of over 96 seconds.
"It's surprising, because normally I don't feel pressure when riding in competition. My horse was handling the course very well.
"We had a very strong team, but it didn't work out for us here," said the rider, who turned 36 yesterday.
Babington's clear round in the morning also incurred one time penalty, but pulled Ireland into ninth of the 10 teams to qualify for the team decider.
Along with Jessica Kuerten, Cian O'Connor and Marion Hughes, who retired on the injured Fortunus, Babington claimed an overall team seventh, with reigning champions Germany powering to yet another gold.
"We'll see what happens on Friday though," he added, "I'll give Carling an early training session in the morning and then a rest, because it's all about being fresh for Friday now."
The top 45 riders jump for individual medals on Friday, and Kuerten (17th) and O'Connor (36th) will also be in the mix.
