AWC 2024 Recap Day 6: Decision run for the title for Iwona Golab and Dalton Meredith after equal combined time

Adrian Bajo with Gif, Iwona Golab with SeeYa and Paulina Duda with Huzi are the teams crowned World Champions on the last day of the 2024 World Championship. And what excitement and curiosities did this last day offer us. For the first time in the history of the World Championships, there was a stalemate at the end of the two runs. Iwona Golab and Dalton Meredith had the same time, down to a hundredth of a second. A run-off run for the two at the end of the Large run with a new course had to decide. But it was not to be the only decision with the same time on the last day of the tournament.

The day started with the Small Agility run. After the jumping, Paulina Duda and Huzi were in first place with a comfortable lead. Despite their lead, they still had to run a faultless run in the Agility course. With an early start number and a disqualification from the jumping run, Jessica Kock set a personal best. Her time of 39.49 seconds held up for a long time. In the end, it was enough for her to take second place in the Agility run. The reigning world champion Kjersti Jørgensen and Agi (1 fault in the Jumping) also did not achieve this time. However, neither of them played a role in the overall ranking. One with a great chance was Max Sprinz and Make. Fifth in the first round. In the Agility run, the team again ran a faultless run. With only four teams left, the chances of an individual medal were good. Just one run later, he was pushed into second place by Iida Vakkuri with Helka. But when Eli Beate Sæther and Xera got a refusal, there was hope in the German camp. However, both Martin Reid with Selfie and Paulina Duda with Huzi showed strong nerves. Both completed their run clean. Martin Reid’s time was only good enough for fourth place, but he secured second place overall behind the new World Champion Paulina Duda and Huzi from Poland. What a story at her first World Championship. She also wins the Agility run with a clear lead of almost one second.

Small Individual (full results)
Paulina Duda with Huzi
Martin Reid with Selfie
Iida Vakkuri with Helka

The Intermediate decision was to be a strange one. But that was not foreseeable at the beginning. Iwona Golab and SeeYa’s lead of half a second was a good cushion. Sara Simandlova and Dakota set a personal best of 37.23 early on. At the end of the run it was the third fastest time. Only Petra Häusermann with Hope from Switzerland (37.20) and Dalton Meredith (37.16) were faster. And the latter was in fourth place after the Jumping on the previous day. The fast time now, took him past Bianca van Gastel and Marine Tonglet, who both had the same time after the Jumping. The latter was eliminated with a disqualification in the Agility run. Bianca van Gastel and Ffenics, however, remained clean. But the time was simply not fast enough to hold on to second place or even move up to first place. Now everything really depended on Iwona Golab and SeeYa. It became quiet as the two went to the starting line. The otherwise very successful team had never won a medal at a World Championship before. She withstood the pressure and ran another clean run. Her name also appeared at the top of the video screen. Only gradually did the people in the hall realize that Dalton Meredith and Clippy had exactly the same time in the combination rankings. A first and something we had never seen in any previous World Championship. The majority probably thought that we had two World Champions for the first time in history. The Large course had already been set up in the hall. Only gradually did the rumors grow that there had to be a so-called run off between the two.

A strange rule that probably only very few people had on their radar. Also strange is the way the rule is interpreted. If no winner can be determined in this additional run (both teams run twice and are disqualified), then both are winners. Or if both forego the run. It was also unclear whether the two would run the same course as the Large teams or not. Both completed the coursewalk together with the other Large teams in the last group. Shortly after this was completed, however, there was an official statement from the FCI that a short, simple course with 16 obstacles would be set up to determine the World Champion. A coin toss was used to determine which of the two teams had to or was allowed to start first. In this case, Iwona Golab was the one who went first on the course. And how she did it. The Pole set the pace with a clean run. This increased the pressure on Dalton Meredith even further. And as exciting as the run-off was expected to be, it was over just as quickly when the Briton with Clippy was eliminated after only a few obstacles. This means that Poland wins the second gold medal of the day. These are the first two gold medals ever for Poland. What a story.

Intermediate Individual (full results)
Iwona Golab with SeeYa
Dalton Meredith with Clippy
Bianca van Gastel with Ffenics

Then there was the Large decision, in which the starting position with 10 teams within one second could not have been more exciting. At the top was Adrian Bajo with Gif. The Spaniard remained also at the top after the second run. Despite the pressure, he and Gif completed the second run confidently with the best time. A very impressive performance. It was the best time, but he had to share it – once again at this World Championship. Nicola Giraudi and Brant also ran 37.06 seconds. Due to the lead from the Jumping, Adrian Bajo was able to take the World Championship title. The Spaniard actually wanted to leave with his team that evening, but postponed it until Monday. Third in the overall ranking and bronze medal winner was Naarah Cuddy with Lemon. She also had two solid runs with no faults. For Germany, the Large final was the last hope of an individual medal. So far, the German team had not won an individual medal at these World Championships. With Max Sprinz with Style (second after the preliminary round) and Tobias Wüst with Ceed (third after the preliminary round), they were in a promising position. But both Tobias and Max Sprinz were eliminated and Germany remains without an individual medal at a World Championship for the first time in many years. Another small side story that this year’s World Championship has written.

Large Individual (full results)
Adrian Bajo with Gif
Nicola Giraudi with Brant
Naarah Cuddy with Lemon