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Australian equestrian Andrew Hoy qualifies for record eighth Olympics

Posted at 9:53 AM, Jun 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-25 11:33:44-04

Australian equestrian Andrew Hoy just can't get enough of the Olympics.

The Australian Olympic Committee announced Australia's equestrian team Friday, and Hoy, after making his Olympic debut in 1984, is officially set to compete in his eighth Olympics this summer in Tokyo, which is an Australian record.

The 62-year-old will become just the 13th Olympic athlete ever to compete in the Olympics eight times.

Hoy, a native of Culcairn, New South Wales, helped Australia capture three consecutive gold medals in team eventing from 1992 to 2000. He also won a silver medal in individual eventing during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

"To represent Australia at international level over so many years has been the greatest privilege and honour of my life," said Hoy. “I have never set out to break records on my number of Olympic Games participations – I am just a country boy from Culcairn, who loves his horses, has a huge passion for our sport and thrives on being competitive at the top end.

“I have been fortunate to have had wonderful support from so many people over the years, as you can never do this alone. It is a huge team effort and I am so grateful for everyone´s support."

Despite this being Hoy's eighth trip to the Olympics, he surprisingly won't be the oldest rider on Australia's equestrian team. That honor will go to Mary Hanna, who turned 66 in December. This will be Hanna's sixth Olympic appearance after making her debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.