Australian teammates Andrew Hoy,Phillip Dutton,Matt Ryan and Stuart Tinney celebrate team gold at the Sydney Olympics.Credit:Tim Clayton
Of all the Games,the Sydney 2000 Olympics is the one Hoy remembers most fondly in his 40-year Olympic career.
“The one that definitely stands out is Sydney:team gold medal,individual silver medal,home Olympics,” he says.
“The Olympic Games brought the best out of Sydney,it brought the best out of people,it brought the best out of the whole country.”
In contrast,the Tokyo Olympics were memorable for theirunique circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I thought it was just amazing what the Japanese people did ... the way it ran was just superb,it’s just that it didn’t have a lot of spectators,” he says.
Hoy won team silver in Tokyo alongside Kevin McNab and Shane Rose – a rider he was likely to compete with again in Paris until a pelvic fracture threw his selection into doubt.
Now,it’s a race against the clock for the 50-year-old to be fit enough for Paris,where he hopes to compete in his fourth Olympic Games.
Australian Olympic rider Shane Rose in hospital after fracturing his pelvis.Credit:Instagram
Rose,who was thrust into the spotlight a month ago for wearing a mankini at an event in the Southern Highlands,underwent surgery last Friday.
A statement released on his social media page last week said Rose was recovering in the intensive care unit.
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Rose’s accident came just days after he secured Olympic qualification in New Zealand,and three weeks after he was cleared for Olympic selection after he was stood down by Equestrian Australia after someone filed a complaint about him wearing a mankini at the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza.
A newly released statement confirmed Rose has every intention of riding in Paris,despite his injuries being “extensive”.
“It has been a week since Shane’s accident,and he continues to improve each day. Shane is very thankful for all the love and support he has received,” the statement reads.
“He is still in hospital and will remain there for the coming days. Shane’s injuries were extensive,a broken femur,fractured pelvis,fractured elbow and numerous fractured ribs. Shane has been operated on to repair the femur and pelvis,he will be on bed rest for at least a month then he will begin his rehabilitation. Fortunately,his horse was not injured in the fall.
“Shane and his team are still optimistic that this accident will not prevent him from competing in the Paris Olympic Games.
“Shane and Virgil are qualified and hopeful that Shane will be able to return to the saddle,prove his fitness and gain selection as part of the Australian Eventing Team.”
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