World Championships in Aachen: Germany's vaulters finish the World Championships with seven medals

The final day of the World Championships in vaulting kicked off with the Pas de Deux final. Kimberly Hyks and Jannik Heiland, who had suffered a stroke of bad luck the previous day when they were unexpectedly dismounted from their horse Crashkurs (lunger: Andrea Harwardt), fought their way back into medal contention with their second freestyle routine set to the music of “Tsar B.” A minor mistake on the dismount was the only blemish—the final score of 8.589 for the second freestyle routine resulted in an overall score of 8.303, securing them the bronze medal. Ahead of them were the 2025 European champions, Rebecca Greggio and Davide Zanella from Italy, with 8.982 (silver), as well as the newly crowned world champions Theo Gardies and Noely Thibaut from France with 9.039.

Hyks was visibly moved after the decision: “I never would have dreamed this could happen; it’s probably the best moment of my life. We fought so hard and kept getting back up time and time again. To be standing here now—in front of a crowd like this, with a field like this—and to somehow pull it off—there were times we didn’t even believe it ourselves. But we always said: keep fighting, fight for the dream, believe in ourselves, and never give up.”

World Championship Debut with Its Ups and Downs: Lindhorst and Richert Finish Sixth

The second German pair, Philine Lindhorst and Cjell Aaron Richert with Chagall (lunge: Andrea Lindhorst), experienced a World Championship debut marked by ups and downs. After an involuntary fall in their first free skate, the Hamburg duo delivered a flawless performance in the second round and ultimately finished in sixth place. “The pressure was less than in the first round—because we had nothing left to lose,” said Lindhorst. Richert aptly described the experience: “It was like reliving our entire season all over again at its climax. After the first round, we thought, ‘It’s over.’ It’s crazy to have relived three months in just two days.”

Emotional Goodbyes: Kathrin Meyer and Captain Claus

In the final Nations Cup, national team coach Kai Vorberg pulled out all the stops: In addition to the gold-medal-winning team from VV Köln-Dünnwald, he also sent world champion Alice Layher and world silver medalist Kathrin Meyer into the competition. Both individual vaulters scored exactly 9.038 points—based on the scores of eight judges and 38 individual marks.

For Meyer, it was an emotional farewell: She’s ending her career after Aachen. “To be able to compete here with a team like this and have a team like this behind the scenes—to experience how they carry you through thick and thin, go through all the ups and downs with you, and always lift you back up at just the right moment—I don’t think many athletes get to experience that, and I’m just so grateful for it.”

Her longtime companion, Capitain Claus OLD (17), also competed for the last time. Lunger Gesa Bührig said, “We’ve had him for nine years, and he’s really taken us a long way. I’m happy to be able to send him into retirement healthy and happy.”

Cologne’s Freestyle Routine Sets a New Record – Gold in the Nations Cup

The Cologne team provided the highlight of the Nations Cup: Riding “Ecuador NRW,” presented by vaulting champion Alexandra Knauf, the sextet wowed the crowd with a freestyle routine set to Rihanna’s “We Found Love”—featuring fluid transitions, top-notch gymnastic performances, and a perfect score of 9.222. That was enough for the overall victory ahead of France (8.996) and Italy (8.771). This also determined the overall result of the Nations Cup: Germany won with a score of 9.103.

Team member Gianna Ronca: “Aachen was amazing. ‘We Found Love’—it was awesome! As a group, we got incredible scores; our individual performances before that got incredible scores—and then we just need a little bit of luck. And today, we had that little bit of luck.”

Seven Medals – Most Successful Vaulting Nation at the World Championships

Germany finished the Vaulting

World

Championships with seven medals: three gold, one silver, and three bronze. National Coach Vorberg summed up the week: “It was a roller coaster of emotions. We’ve now climbed the final hill and were able to enjoy a wonderful ride back down. We’re the most successful nation in vaulting—and these days, it’s not a given that things will actually work out that way.”