Born to jump! Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica wins silver Olympic medal

Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of rock star Bruce Springsteen, has won a silver medal in showjumping at the Olympics.

A member of the US team, they were beaten by Sweden in a jump-off for the gold medal on Saturday, while Belgium secured bronze.

It marked an Olympic debut for 29-year-old Springsteen, who is the youngest member of the team.

“It was wild,” she said.

Springsteen, daughter of “the Boss” and singer Patti Scialfa, said she called her family, who were “all screaming”.

She added: “I don’t think we understood a word that anyone was saying. Lots of yelling. All smiles, I just saw their Team USA gear. There was lots of shouting.”

Springsteen, along with her teammates Laura Kraut and McLain Ward, moved cleanly through the shortened jump-off course with a combined time of 124.2 seconds.

The final Swedish rider, Peder Fredricson, needed to circle the track in 40.30 seconds or better without error and cruised to a time of 39.01 for the country’s record fourth gold medal – but the first since 1924.

The Olympian, who is ranked in the world’s top 15, previously said: “This is not only my first Olympics, but also my first championships. I am so excited to represent my country at this level.”

She said it was something she had “always dreamt of”, adding it was a “huge honour” to be selected for the squad.

The postponement of the Olympics last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, had allowed her to build a partnership with her 12-year-old stallion Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, she added.

Springsteen’s mum is reported to have introduced her to horses as a toddler while they were living on a farm in New Jersey.

Her parents had been expected to watch the tournament from their home in the US.