Mark Todd returns for the Hong Kong Olympic Events

Double Olympic Gold Medallist Comes Out of Retirement to Aim for Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian EventsMark Todd.

The man who was declared Rider of the 20th Century by the International Equestrian Federation, is as much of a legend in the equestrian world as fellow New Zealander Edmund Hillary was in mountaineering circles. And he's a legend that is hoping to come to Hong Kong this August to compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic equestrian events.

Todd, Olympic gold medallist in Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988, retired from the international eventing circuit in 2000 after claiming individual bronze at the Sydney Olympics. Now, eight years down the line and at the age of 51, he has decided to dust off his boots and return to the fray in a bid to make it a hat-trick of Olympic gold.

Born in rural Cambridge on the North Island of New Zealand in 1956, Todd had hopes of becoming a jockey. But his lanky 188cms frame meant he had to abandon the racing world – temporarily as it turned out – and he went into show jumping. But it was when he turned his attention to eventing that the equestrian world sat up and took notice of him.

At the age of 24 he made his debut at the prestigious Badminton three-day event in Britain – and won. From then on he became an almost unstoppable force, going on to claim those two Olympic titles, two more Badminton wins and no fewer than five wins at Burghley, the feature event on the British autumn circuit, as well as individual gold at the Open European championships in 1997. He was also a member of New Zealand's gold medal winning teams at the world equestrian games in 1990 and 1998.

Despite his height, Todd produced his best performances with a horse that was little more than a pony. Charisma measured in at just 158cms, but he had the heart of a champion and was Todd's winning ride in both Seoul and Los Angeles.

After more than 20 years in Britain, Todd moved back to New Zealand and started training and breeding racehorses, with a success not dissimilar to his triumphs on the eventing scene.

Todd's racing wins were not just on home turf, however. Izzat, which won twice for Todd in New Zealand and was placed in a Group 1 race as a three-year-old, was sold to Hong Kong trainer Paul O'Sullivan, who sent him out as the renamed Vital King to win last year's Mercedes Benz Derby at Sha Tin for owner Mr Chong Man Lung.