From left: Laura Kraut, Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward celebrate winning Olympic silver in the equestrian jumping team final at Equestrian Park in Tokyo. Photo / AP
From left: Laura Kraut, Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward celebrate winning Olympic silver in the equestrian jumping team final at Equestrian Park in Tokyo. Photo / AP
Jessica Springsteen, daughter of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, won equestrian jumping team silver with the United States at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday after disappointment in the individual event.
The 29-year-old, who failed to qualify for the individual jumping final on her horse Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, pocketed silveras the US finished behind Sweden in a jump-off. Belgium won bronze.
Springsteen said that she had done "a really quick" video call with her family back home.
"They were all screaming, I don't think we understood anything," she said. "Just saw their Team USA gear, there was just lots of shouting. I couldn't make a lot out, but I know that they're so excited."
They were not the only ones to celebrate Springsteen's success. Stevie Van Zandt, a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, tweeted: "It's her first freakin Olympics! Absolutely incredible! She's put in years of hard work of course, but still!"
It’s her first freakin Olympics! Absolutely incredible! She’s put in years of hard work of course, but still!
— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) August 7, 2021
The youngest member of the United States team summed up her team's performance by saying: "It was wild. Watching the last couple go, wondering if you're going to have to jump off or not. You start to get the jitters but it was also super exciting.
"We all gave it all out there."
Springsteen is not the first equestrian competitor with famous parents to compete at the Olympics.
Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, represented Britain at the 1976 Montreal Games, and Anne's daughter Zara Tindall jumped at London in 2012, winning a silver medal.
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