Reserve rider leapfrogs into the Olympic hot seat four weeks after spinal injury

Four weeks ago, Polish rider Jan Kaminski broke some bones in his spine that left his Olympic bid in tatters. He had a fall at the third fence at his home Nations Cup in Strzegom, which caused the injury.

The Tokyo Olympian was selected as reserve, but continued training with the team, and when compatriot Pawel Warszawski had to withdraw, Jan leapfrogged over alternate Wiktoria Knapp directly into the main trio before the first horse inspection. They kicked off their Paris 2024 Olympic bid in the dressage arena at Versailles on Saturday, 27 July.

“It has been pretty tough for me,” admits Jan. “I’d been preparing the last season for this moment; I won the qualifying competition at Baborowko and had a great season, then had the accident and was out of the team. But luckily for me, I came in at the last moment.

“I’ve been really focused on the Olympics for the past two years, and done everything I could to be here and fight for my country.”

Jan was in a similar position ahead of Tokyo, where he was switched into the team after the first horse inspection.

“I tried not think about being the reserve,” he says. “There is no impact on the rider – we still have to do our job, switch off our phones and focus. We are very lucky that the team is very supportive, and everyone around us.”

While a broken bones in the back may not sound conducive to competing at any level, let alone elite, Jan’s injuries were minimal.

“I broke part some tiny bones in my spine, which wasn’t at all serious and I have no idea exactly where,” he says. “After two weeks I was competing again in Hungary and everything is fine now. I’ve seen 20 doctors in the past month, been scanned from head to toe, and the Polish Olympic committee have double-checked everything to make sure I am healthy and strong enough. It causes me no pain.”

Jan Kaminski: “My horse was too excited”

Jan was sanguine after a disappointing test by their standards. His ride, Jard, is a Polish-bred 14-year-old, who has won and competed at multiple four-stars. Their score of 35.8 was a little off their personal best of 31.3, which they posted at the Pratoni World Championships.

“In the dressage you can see he’s very hot, especially in this atmosphere,” says Jan. “I had a bit of trouble warming him up properly because he was too excited about the sounds and the applause from the French public.

“It’s the most beautiful cross-country I’ve ever seen,” he adds. “I think it’s very intense for the riders and the horses. It has a good beginning then a lot of tough questions, from the first water until the last fence. I think it will be influential.”

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