An Olympic equestrian made sure his trusty steed wasn’t forgotten after winning a bronze medal by taking a triumphant selfie with him.
Japanese athlete Yoshiaki Oiwa won Japan’s first equestrian medal in 92 years in Paris on Monday and celebrated with a photo of himself and his horse MGH Grafton Street, who cheekily stuck out his tongue.
Smiling in the cute picture, he wrote, “I did it! I’m still busy so I’ll do it later. We did it! Thank you all for your support! I’m tired~ Let’s rest for a while.”
Japan had not won a medal in equestrian sport since 1932, when Takeichi Nishi won gold at the Los Angeles Games in individual show jumping.
The snapwhich racked up over 5.5 million views, gained a lot of attention online and fans flocked to congratulate the duo.
Yoshiaki Oiwa shared an adorable selfie with his horse MGH Grafton Street after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics
One person said: “Congratulations on the bronze medal. The Grafton Street edition did a great job too. Please give me some praise!”
Another said: “You made history in Japanese equestrian sports! Thank you and congratulations.”
Someone else said: “Thank you to all the middle-aged Japanese riders for the inspiring performance! Their calm riding was spectacular and wonderful! Their English interviews after the competition were also excellent!”
Meanwhile, NBC Washington’s Haleigh Hoffman called it “the best selfie of the Olympics.”
The Japanese equestrian team included Ryuzo Kitajima, Yoshiaki Oiwa, Kazuma Tomoto and Toshiyuki Tanaka.
Japan took the bronze medal in the equestrian team event, behind France, who won silver, and Great Britain, who won the gold medal.
Japanese Yoshiaki Oiwa strokes his horse Mgh Grafton Street after competing in the show jumping competition
Ryuzo Kitajima, Yoshiaki Oiwa, Toshiyuki Tanaka and Kazuma Tomoto celebrate their bronze medal on the podium during the all-around team final
Yoshiaki Oiwa, qualified for the individual eventing competition, from Japan, at the Palace of Versailles, France
The snap, which racked up over 5.5 million views, gained a lot of attention online with fans flocking to congratulate the duo.
Yoshi began riding horses as a high school student and began practicing eventing during his time in college.
Eventing: An equestrian competition that typically takes place over three days and includes dressage, cross-country, and jumping events.
In 2001 he moved to the UK to practice eventing, trained by Andrew Hoy, and in 2008 he moved to Germany, where he trains with German rider Dirk Schrade.
He won the Best Equestrian Athlete award at the Japanese Sports Awards in 2005, ’07 and ’11.
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