Zara Tindall is facing a significant career setback following a recent announcement.
The royal’s hopes of making a return to the Olympics have been dashed with the confirmation that she will not be included in Team GB’s Paris 2024 squad.
At 43, Zara will not be competing as an equestrian at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The mother-of-three previously secured a silver medal in Team Eventing at the 2012 London Olympics, an achievement she received from her mother, the Princess Royal.
In 2022, Zara told Vogue Australia that she was training to secure a spot in the Paris 2024 squad in hopes of winning a gold medal, a title she has yet to claim. Reporter Matthew Benns, who interviewed Zara, wrote:
“Tindall is back in training and working on having the right horse for a run at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“She has fewer horses than in 2012 and now has to fit her training in around a busy schedule as a mother of three. She says having horses in stables at home makes things easier.
“Her round at Gatcombe gave both her and the horse a ‘good education’.”
The UK Eventing Team for the Paris 2024 Games will consist of Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen, and Yasmin Ingham, leaving Zara Tindall off the squad for the fifth time. Zara missed the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics due to injuries sustained by her horse.
In 2016, although she qualified for the Rio Olympics, Zara was ultimately excluded from the final team due to ongoing concerns about her horse’s fitness.
Zara also missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as she was expecting her third child, Lucas Tindall.
Both of Zara’s parents are accomplished equestrians and former Olympians. Princess Anne competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics but suffered a fall from her horse Goodwill, resulting in a fractured vertebra.
Zara’s father, Captain Mark Phillips, won gold medals in Team Eventing at the 1972 Munich Games and the 1988 Seoul Games.