Belgium win 2022 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final and claim Paris 2024 spot
The Belgium equestrian team of Koen Vereecke, Gregory Wathelet, Gilles Thomas and Jerome Guery won the iconic Nations Cup trophy ahead of France in second, and secured Olympic qualification ahead of Switzerland in the Barcelona-hosted event on Sunday (2 October).
Switzerland were in the clubhouse with four penalties on the board at the 2022 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final on Sunday (2 October) when Belgium's experienced equestrian Jerome Guery padded into the arena at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona on stallion Quel Homme De Hus.
The Tokyo 2020 team jumping bronze medallist needed to perform a clear round to match his compatriots to not only win the iconic Nations Cup trophy but also beat Switzerland to the one qualifying spot on offer for Paris 2024.
Team-mates Koen Vereecke (Kasanova de la Pomme), Gregory Wathelet (Iron Man van de Padenborre) and Gilles Thomas (Calleryama) collectively held their breath for the 82.04s it took for Guery to finish the round, only exhaling after the 42-year-old cleared the fences to claim a place for Belgium at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Asked how he felt after the round, Guery said, "I feel very good as there's no pressure now I'm finished".
France finished second after matching the four penalties of Switzerland but completing the course in a quicker time of 241.32 seconds to third-placed Switzerland 244.00s.
Belgium secure Paris 2024 Olympic qualification
Defending champions, the Netherlands were unable to replicate their feat from 2021, finishing in fourth with Great Britain and Spain finishing just three hundredths apart – on 16 penalty points each – in fifth and sixth, respectively. Germany were seventh with Ireland, eighth.
Those who did not qualify from Thursday's final, competed in the Challenge Cup on Saturday night with Mexico taking the win over Brazil, Canada, Norway, Argentina and Sweden.
Belgium join France (qualified as hosts), and August's World Championship qualifiers Sweden, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland and Germany in cementing the opportunity to compete at the iconic Chateau de Versailles venue in Paris.
The United States will have to wait until next year's Pan American Games to try again to secure qualification after surprisingly not making the final this time around or qualifying via the World Championship.
The Swiss will be devastated to have missed out on qualification again after an eighth-place finish at the worlds meant they did not qualify at the first opportunity.
High fliers in their team such as Steve Guerdat who won individual Olympic gold at London 2012 and Martin Fuchs the reigning FEI Jumping World Cup champion will not want to miss out, but only Guerdat went clear in his round on Sunday.
READ MORE: Paris 2024 equestrian jumping qualification process explained
2022 FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final – results
1 Belgium 0 / 241.73
2 France 4 / 241.32
3 Switzerland 4 / 244.00
4 The Netherlands 8 / 240.30
5 Great Britain 16 / 237.72
6 Spain 16 / 237.75
7 Germany 16 / 239.37
8 Ireland 20 / 243.28