Equestrian sport
World Cup victory for show jumper Ahlmann in Mechelen
Christian Ahlmann celebrates with Mandato van de Neerheide after his victory. photo
© Jasper Jacobs/Belga/dpa
Show jumper Christian Ahlmann wins the ninth of 14 World Cup stages in Mechelen, Belgium. The decision is made in the play-off.
At the show jumping World Cup tournament in Belgium In Mechelen, Christian Ahlmann secured victory with Mandato van de Neerheide. The 49-year-old from Marl made no mistakes in the jump-off of the top six.
With a lead of almost half a second, Ahlmann relegated the current world number one, Henrik von Eckermann, to second place. The Swede also made no mistakes on Iliana. Third place went to the Belgian Gregory Wathelet on Bond Jamesbond de Hay.
Third victory for Ahlmann in Mechelen
“It feels fantastic,” said Ahlmann. “I risked everything, everything worked out and Mandato jumped fantastically.” The 2011 World Cup final winner received 47,500 euros in prize money for his success. After 2015 and 2018, it was Ahlmann’s third victory at the World Cup stage in Mechelen.
Mechelen was the ninth of 14 World Cup stages this season. In the World Cup ranking, Briton Ben Maher is at the top with 72 points, while the best German is Rene Dittmer (Stade) in eighth place with 42 points. Hans-Dieter Dreher is twelfth with 32 points – in Mechelen he came fifth. Ahlmann is now in 17th place with 28 points. The best 18 pairs of the Western European League will take part in the finals (April 16th to 20th) in Riyadh at the end of the season.