Alice Layher won her first senior world title at the FEI World Championships in Aachen, riding FBW Candy to a final score of 9.041. She led a German medal sweep ahead of Kathrin Meyer and Annemie Szemes — the first time in over two decades one nation claimed all three individual female vaulting medals.
A clean sweep sealed with a perfect mark
Layher had led since the compulsory test, where she scored 8.788 to take the overnight advantage. In the decisive Free Test she delivered a routine that earned a 10.0 for artistic impression. The sold-out Stadium 3 crowd stood before the marks were even posted.
Meyer pushed, then paused to applaud
Meyer occupied the gold-medal position for most of the final day after her own 9.116 Free Test aboard Capitain OLD. When Layher's 9.357 pushed the overall to 9.041, Meyer's 8.862 settled into silver — and she was the first to rush across and congratulate the new champion. She leaves the sport with her first individual world medal.
Szemes vaulted from fourth place into bronze with an 8.814 free test on the 13-year-old Rubinio. All three women train inside the German vaulting programme, but none had owned the senior podium together until this evening.
"I have put an incredible amount of work into this Free Test routine, and I am super happy that this effort is receiving such recognition," Layher told reporters afterwards.
Layher was a junior world champion in 2023. She is now a senior world champion on home soil, with a rare perfect mark and a flag-swept podium behind her.
