Michael Jung won the individual gold medal at the 2026 FEI Eventing World Championship in Aachen, finishing on his dressage score of 23.0 penalties. The mark stands as the lowest winning score at a World Championship since 1980. It also extends his record to five individual global titles across the Olympic Games and World Championships.
A clear round when it mattered most
Jung entered the Main Stadium with a narrow 0.4-penalty lead over Ros Canter. Two light touches during his show-jumping round drew gasps from the crowd, but every pole stayed in its cups. He crossed the line inside the time allowed and the gold was his.
Five titles across two great partnerships
Only 13 of the 59 final-day combinations jumped clear on the track designed by Frank Rothenberger. Jung and the 18-year-old fischerChipmunk FRH had already delivered a cross-country masterclass the day before, making optimum time without adding to their dressage score. The horse has now achieved that feat at five separate championships, a record matched only by Jung’s former mount La Biosthetique-Sam FBW.
Jung first became World Champion in Kentucky in 2010. Since then he has built a career unmatched in the sport. This latest gold came on home soil, with Germany taking team silver behind Great Britain.
“He was jumping amazingly,” Jung told reporters afterwards. “Normally a double of verticals at the end of the course is not Chipmunk’s favourite thing, but he was super. And you need luck on your side.”
The victory closed a chapter that began more than a decade ago. The quiet rider from Horb remains the standard against which eventing is measured.
