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Laura CollettBritish horsewoman
Date of Birth: 31.08.1989
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Early Career and Success
Laura Collett is a British equestrian who competes in eventing. She has won two Olympic gold medals in team eventing (2020 and 2024) and is a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
In her youth career, Collett claimed nine medals, including three individual golds. She has competed in three European Championships in the individual discipline.
Breakthrough Performances
Collett made her cross-country debut in 2011 at the Luhmühlen Horse Trials. In 2015, she placed 13th at the Blair Castle International Horse Trials with her horse Grand Manoeuvre. She achieved a second-place finish at the Luhmühlen Horse Trials in 2018 with Mr Bass.
However, her first five-star victory came in October 2020 at the Pau Horse Trials in France with London 52. Prior to this, London 52 had won the Blenheim Horse Trials in the eight- and nine-year-old class in 2018 and triumphed in the Event Rider Masters at Chatsworth and the CCI4-L at the Boekelo Horse Trials in 2019.
Olympic Glory
In 2021, eight years after a life-threatening fall, Collett and London 52 were selected for Team Great Britain at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Alongside Oliver Townend and Tom McEwen, Collett won gold in the team eventing and placed ninth individually.
Honours and Legacy
In 2022, Collett was awarded an MBE for her services to equestrianism. She also claimed victory at the Badminton Horse Trials that year, setting a record-breaking score of 21.4 penalties.
In June 2024, Collett was named to the British team for the Paris Summer Olympics. She won her second Olympic gold in team eventing with Rosalind Canter and Tom McEwen. She also secured a bronze medal in the individual competition.
Personal Tragedy
Collett's personal life was marked by a tragic incident in 2013 when she suffered five cardiac arrests and an emergency tracheotomy after a fall from a horse. She sustained numerous injuries, including a broken shoulder and ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver, and kidney damage. A fragment of her shoulder bone penetrated her right eye, damaging her optic nerve. She was placed in an induced coma for six days.
