She is the last French Olympic medalist (bronze) in show jumping. She was a video game hero in the 2000s, then launched a clothing brand. At almost 55 years old, Alexandra Ledermann is still as busy as ever. Encounter.
“It’s funny, I have no memory of when I hit the track.” For an article on her memories of the Olympic Games, it’s nerd… But rest assured, Alexandra Ledermann will quickly regain her memory.
Atlanta, 1996. During the individual show jumping final, the German Ulrich Kirchhoff won the gold medal. But you need a barrier to distribute the silver and bronze. Seven riders set off on a short but very difficult course.
Among them, only one woman, a 27-year-old Frenchwoman. “It’s very young in our sport, explains the native of Évreux (Eure). It was my first Olympics, I wasn’t going there for a medal but to do my best.”
Alexandra Ledermann won the bronze medal in individual show jumping at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
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© MICHAEL JUNG / IOPP
After a flawless performance and an excellent time (41.46 seconds), Alexandra Ledermann and her horse Rochet M won the bronze medal. The pleasure is as intense as the surprise is immense.
“You have to believe in it until the end, don’t give up.” hammers the rider. The moral of his story resonates as a message for all French athletes who will participate in the Paris 2024 Games, and which this pure and hardline chauvinist will follow closely. “In all sports, there are ups and downs, you have to hang on.”
She, at 54 years old, still hasn’t picked up. 28 years after reaching the peak of her career, Alexandra Ledermann was, on the day we met, entered into a competition at the Haras du Loup de Canteleu (Seine-Maritime). Everyone here knows it, but for different reasons.
Arthur, a 32-year-old farrier, immediately thinks of the medal when the name of the rider is mentioned. But for Océane, 30, the first thing that comes to mind is video games. Because “Alexandra Ledermann” is also a series (nearly twenty) of horse riding simulations released in the 2000s.
More than a million copies of “Alexandra Ledermann” video games were sold between 2000 and 2010.
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© Ubisoft
Crowned with her title of European champion in 1999, the Ébroïcienne became the face of a game sold more than a million copies between 2000 and 2010. An enormous success, which allowed her to make her mark a name beyond this rather closed environment.
Today, at Canteleu, the stands are sparse. It is a competition which is a replay for “Fier de Lui”, the nine-year-old horse that Alexandra Ledermann will ride on this course. With obstacles at 135 cm, the objective is within reach. But two bars ended up on land that afternoon. A little more training is still required for this horse bought at auction, which the rider will later resell.
In addition to working on her riding skills through competitions two to three times a month, Alexandra Ledermann is a coach. She gives show jumping improvement sessions in the family stables in Huest, near Évreux.
For the one who started competing at the age of seven, things haven’t changed much. Firstly, she assures that she is never stressed in her discipline. “Well, yes, at the Olympics I was stressed…”, she concedes. Secondly, she still has this unconditional love for her horses.
Despite his average run today, “Proud of Him” was showered with kisses and hugs. Obviously, not as much as Rochet M, almost 30 years ago, after that lightning barrage in Atlanta.
When she sees these images of communion and affection between her and her horse again, Alexandra Ledermann cannot help but let a few tears flow. “He was the horse of my life.”she whispers.
