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Anky van Grunsven

Anky van Grunsven
Anky van Grunsven (2008-08-25).jpg
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team dressage
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 The Hague Freestyle dressage
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aachen Freestyle dressage
Silver medal – second place 1994 The Hague Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1998 Rome Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1998 Rome Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aachen Special dressage
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aachen Team dressage
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Arnhem Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2005 Hagen Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2007 La Mandria Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2007 La Mandria Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2009 Windsor Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1995 Mondorf Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1995 Mondorf Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1997 Verden Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1997 Verden Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1999 Arnhem Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2001 Verden Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2005 Hagen Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2007 La Mandria Freestyle dressage
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Donaueschingen Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Windsor Freestyle dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Aachen Team reining
Dressage World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1995 Los Angeles Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 1996 Göteborg Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 1997 Den Bosch Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 1999 Dortmund Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2000 Den Bosch Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2004 Düsseldorf Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2005 Las Vegas Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2006 Amsterdam Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2008 Den Bosch Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1998 Göteborg Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Las Vegas Individual dressage

Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven (born 2 January 1968) is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.

In addition to her Olympic and World Equestrian Games successes, van Grunsven holds the record for the most wins at the Dressage World Cup, winning the event nine times between 1995 and 2008. She has also competed numerous times at the European Dressage Championships, winning seven individual medals and eight team medals between 1991 and 2009. Although van Grunsven has ridden many horses over her career, she won the majority of her top events on two horses: Bonfire and Salinero. Bonfire, upon whom she had many of her early successes, was retired in 2002. Salinero quickly took over as van Grunsven's top horse, and remained in that position until his retirement in 2013, after making a major comeback to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games. Van Grunsven has been closely linked with the controversial training method rollkur, although she has moved to distance herself from the practice after it was banned from international competition.

Van Grunsven was born in Erp, North Brabant. She began training in dressage at the age of 12, after her horse Prisco (who she would later ride at the Olympics and World Equestrian Games) performed poorly in show jumping.

Van Grunsven is married to Dutch national equestrian coach Sjef Janssen, with whom she has two children. She was pregnant with her first child, Yannick, when she competed at the 2004 Olympic Games, and gave birth in November of that year. Van Grunsven and Janssen married in Las Vegas in late 2005, and in March 2007 had her second child, Ava Eden.


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