Swiss rider Steve Guerdat won the World Cup Grand Prix in Leipzig, outpacing competitors with a swift jump-off time. Germany's Gerrit Nieberg secured third place on Ping Pong after a clear round. The event featured strong performances from multiple German riders.
Steve Guerdat, the six-time Swiss Olympian and 2012 Olympic champion, triumphed in the Leipzig World Cup show jumping competition, riding Iashin Sitte to victory in the jump-off with a time of 42.21 seconds. This win marked his first World Cup victory in some time, earning him 51,000 euros in prize money and 20 World Cup points. "It's been a while since I won a World Cup show jumping competition, so I'm all the happier about this victory," Guerdat said.
France's Simon Delestre finished second on Gatsby du Tillard, clocking 43.25 seconds in the jump-off. German rider Gerrit Nieberg, aged 32, took third place aboard Ping Pong with a clear round in 44.54 seconds. "That was a really fast jump-off," Nieberg commented. "I tried everything, it wasn't quite enough, but I'm over the moon with third place."
Out of 40 rider-horse pairs, 11 qualified for the jump-off with clear rounds in the first phase, including four German combinations. Mario Stevens on Starissa placed fifth in 47.13 seconds, while Michael Jung with Fischerheros finished sixth after one knockdown. Philipp Schulze Topphoff on Carla came seventh. Other German riders, such as Michael Kölz on Cellato and Marvin Jüngel on Don Corleone, recorded knockdowns and did not advance.
This event was the ninth of 13 stages in the 2026 World Cup season, with the next stop in Amsterdam and the final in Fort Worth, Texas, in early April. Current leader Richard Vogel, with 56 points, did not participate in Leipzig.