Cian O'Connor

Cian O'Connor ( born November 12, 1979 in Dublin) is an Irish show jumper.

Career

At age 16, O'Connor began riding when he realized that he would never make it in rugby as much as his grandfather, Rugby Star Karl Mullen.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he won with his horse, Waterford Crystal, the individual gold medal in show jumping. On 8 October 2004, it emerged that Waterford Crystal tested positive for doping (at this time was not yet between doping and illegal medication, distinguished ). Parts of the B Sample and the documents were then stolen from the Irish FN office. The FEI recognized him from the medal and detained him for three months of competitions. The individual gold medal went to the Brazilian show jumper Rodrigo Pessoa.

In December 2009, O'Connor was at London Olympia Horse Show with Rancorrado second in the World Cup test and won the following day the Grand Prize.

He represented the Irish team to 2010 in 40 Nations Cups and participated in World Cup competition, European Championships and World Championships.

In November 2011, he was ranked 56 of the show jumping world rankings.

After Denis Lynch's horse Lantinus was disqualified because of a hypersensitivity in the horse's leg at the CHIO Aachen 2012, the Irish Equestrian Federation drew the Olympic nomination Lynch's back. Benefited from this Cian O'Connor, who was allowed to take over the single spot at the 2012 Olympic Games. With Blue Loyd he won after initially weak rounds in the qualifiers, the bronze medal in the individual competition.

Private

O'Connor's grandfather was the Irish rugby players Karl Mullen, his godfather is Sir Anthony O'Reilly. Cian's sister Pippa O'Connor works as a model.

On 3 July 2002 died Cian's girlfriend at the time, the show jumper Hazel O'Callaghan, the effects of a head injury she had sustained while unloading a horse on June 19.

In 2004, he was with the jumper and TV presenter Rachel Wyse, from 2007, he had a relationship with the U.S. show jumper Georgina Bloomberg.

On December 31, 2011, he married, from this marriage was in 2013 a common son out.