Bruce Springsteen’s Daughter Wins Silver Olympic Medal With U.S. Equestrian Team
Jessica Springsteen, daughter of Bruce Springsteen, just won a silver medal at the Olympics.
The 29-year-old Springsteen competed in Tokyo with the U.S. equestrian show jumping team on Saturday, narrowly losing out on the gold medal to Sweden in a jump off.
Per the New York Times, Springsteen had four faults in the primary round after her horse, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, knocked down a rail during a jump. One of her teammates also had four faults, leaving the U.S. and Sweden in a tie for gold with eight faults each.
For the jump off, both teams sent three riders through an abbreviated course, with Springsteen, McLain Ward and Laura Kraut competing for the U.S. All six riders performed without error, but Sweden’s team finished the course 1.3 seconds faster, clinching the gold.
Show jumping is one of three equestrian events at the Olympics and involves horses clearing high hurdles. The other events are dressage, in which rides and horses are judged on their movement, and eventing, which combines jumping and dressage with a cross-country race.
“I was disappointed to have the four faults,” Springsteen told reporters. “But I thought my horse jumped the rest of the course absolutely beautifully.”
The Tokyo games marked Springsteen’s first go at the Olympics, with the rider joining a U.S. show jumping team of Olympic veterans. Ward is a two-time gold medalist, and Kraut, currently on her third Olympics, took home a gold in Beijing in 2008. The fourth member of the show jumping team, Kent Farrington, won a silver medal in London 2016.
Springsteen discussed her journey to the Olympics in an interview with “Today” last month, telling host Hoda Kotb that her parents were “so happy” for her.
“They were so excited,” she said. “They’ve supported me since I was little. This has been a huge dream of mine ever since I can remember and the sport has become such a passion for them as well. I feel like we’ve been on this journey together, so they were just so happy.”
