Nicola and Katanga van het Dingeshof won the silver medal in the team competition at the FEI Jumping World Championships in Aachen. After three consecutive days of competition, they finished second on Friday evening alongside fellow Red Musketeers Pieter Devos with Casual DV Z, Thibeau Spits with Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z and Abdel Saïd with Wathnan Quaker Brimbelles Z. The silver medal also secures Belgium a place at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Since the World Championship selection was announced, preparations had been underway at the Philippaerts home in Oudsbergen for what was a very special championship, taking place just an hour from home in Aachen. From the very first day, the Belgian team was on form. Nicola and Katanga started the championship with a clear round in the opening speed class and repeated that performance a day later during the first round of the team competition. On Friday, the third day of the championship, Nicola and Katanga had two fences down over a very demanding course. Pieter Devos and Thibeau Spits kept Belgium's medal hopes alive, before Abdel Saïd secured the silver medal with a clear round. The celebrations in the Belgian camp were huge.
After the medal ceremony, a heavy thunderstorm broke over Aachen, but the atmosphere in the Belgian camp could hardly have been better. "It is incredible what we've achieved with this team," says Nicola. "After two clear days, Friday was a little more difficult for me, but my teammates made up for it. This World Championship silver medal is absolutely deserved. We started Friday evening with an unfortunate mistake and had another one towards the end of the course. Katanga was a little more difficult to control, but jumping three days in a row is not something to underestimate. If you looked at the scores on Friday evening, it was clear that it was a very demanding course. Quite a few combinations did not even complete the course. Overall, we had a fantastic championship as a team. We finish second and qualify directly for the 2028 Olympic Games. After the ceremony and the press conference, it was already well past midnight, but we still had a drink together as a team before going to bed."
For Nicola and Katanga, it was their fifth appearance together at a major championship. After winning team gold at the European Championships in La Coruña and team bronze at the European Championships in Riesenbeck, the successful Belgian combination has now added a World Championship team silver medal to their record. Nicola and Katanga will not compete again on the final day of the championship.
"After those two faults on Friday, I was no longer in the running for an individual medal. Katanga will get some well deserved rest and on Sunday I will be supporting Abdel, who is sixth, and Thibeau, who is fifteenth," concludes Nicola.
