February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The 24 year-old Kildare-based O’Connor was riding Waterford Crystal, and produced a flawless final round.
O’Connor’s victory came in an event that saw many competitors eliminated through penalties and injuries, though he reached the final with Irish team mates, Kevin Babbington and Antrim woman Jessica Kuerten. He carried only four penalty points from his first round, though team mate Kuerten had a disastrous second round after her flawless first, clocking up 20 penalty points.
Kildare-born O’Connor rode two victory laps of the stadium after he received the gold medal in an emotional victory ceremony – the visibly moved Olympian shed tears of joy as he sang the national anthem in Irish.
The gold medal crowns O’Connor’s superb equestrian career in the last two years, competing in a sport that competitors say is a uniquely difficult challenge, depending so much on the form and performance of the horses as well as the riders. He has jumped in 36 Nations Cup teams for Ireland, of which 11 have been winning.
The gold medal is an especially sweet win for the Irish team’s chef d’equipe, Eddie Macken, who was hired to manage and mentor the Irish Olympic team, then fired and then rehired in time for Athens and O’Connor’s victory.
Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa took silver and the US’s Chris Kappler gained the bronze medal.
O’Connor lives in Ratoath, Co. Meath. He is a grandson of former Irish rugby international player Dr. Karl Mullan.