Switzerland's Guerdat wins individual jumping gold

London, England – Steve Guerdat won the individual jumping competition Wednesday, the Swiss rider's second Olympic medal and first gold.

Gerco Schroder of the Netherlands beat Ireland's Cian O'Connor in a jump-off for the silver.

Guerdat made it through both final rounds Thursday without a penalty, clearing each fence and completing the course in the allotted time. He won a team bronze with Switzerland in 2008.

Schroder and O'Connor both had 1 time penalty through the two finals and took to the course for a third time Wednesday to decide the other two medals.

After Schroder made it through cleanly, O'Connor clipped the last fence for 4 penalties and settled for third place. Schroder also won a team jumping silver here with the Netherlands.

O'Connor was back at the Olympics for the first time since winning the jumping gold at the 2004 Athens Games, only to have it stripped months later when a test on his horse came back positive for a banned substance.

Great Britain was in line for a potential fourth equestrian medal at its home Olympics, but Nick Skelton knocked down the third-to-last rail in his second ride and finished tied for fifth place. A clean ride would have put Skelton in a jump-off for gold.

"A bit unlucky. Everyone thought it was going well. I did too, but I just touched the pole at the wrong time and that was it," said Skelton. "I feel sorry for the people that came today. We expected to win and it wasn't to be."

Canadian Eric Lamaze, the 2008 gold medalist, was eliminated after the first final. Countryman Ian Millar tied for ninth while American Rich Fellers came in eighth.

Fences on the Greenwich Park course included one made to look like a red double-decker bus, another that paid homage to the Beatles album Abbey Road and one resembling two medieval jousters.