Dujardin claims dressage gold (From This Is Swindon Town FC)

Dujardin claims dressage gold

4:06pm Thursday 9th August 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2013

British dressage star Charlotte Dujardin won her second gold medal of London 2012 when she was crowned Olympic individual freestyle champion at Greenwich Park.

The 27-year-old is only the fourth British female athlete to win double gold at one Games after Dame Kelly Holmes, Rebecca Adlington and Laura Trott.

Enfield-born Dujardin was the last rider to go, and she broke her third Olympic record in three separate London disciplines by scoring 90.089%. It eclipsed Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival's score of 88.196%, while Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris won bronze.

Dujardin, who had not even ridden a competitive grand prix test 20 months ago, added individual gold to the team gold she won earlier this week with Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester.

She burst into tears when her score flashed up on the scoreboard, while the two medals has given British equestrian sport its best Olympics of all time. They won five medals in total - dressage team and individual gold, dressage individual bronze, showjumping gold and eventing silver.

Dujardin's routine to music was crammed with patriotic British tunes such as Land of Hope and Glory and I Vow to Thee, My Country, and also included the chimes of Big Ben.

And there was a Last Night Of The Proms feel in Greenwich's main arena as she became only the second British equestrian athlete to win double gold at one Games, following eventer Richard Meade 40 years ago.

Dujardin had earlier set Olympic records in the grand and grand prix special tests that forged the team competition.

Bechtolsheimer, who like Dujardin and Hester is based in Gloucestershire, produced a brilliant test for bronze on her 17-year-old Mistral Hojris.

They scored 84.339% for their routine that was based on music from The Lion King.