Christian Zimmermann (né Brühe) (born 12 December 1961 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) is a German-born Palestinian Olympic

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

rider. He represented Palestine at the

2014 World Equestrian Games The 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games were held in the region of Normandy, France. It was the seventh edition of the Games, which are held every four years and run by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). For team even ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

where he finished 68th in the individual dressage competition with ''Cinco de Mayo''. By doing so, he became the first Palestinian to compete at the

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

Life

Zimmermann is a descendant of composer

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

.How a German Businessman Ended Up Representing Palestine in Rio
– Haaretz, 2 August 2016 Zimmermann competed in dressage until the age of 26, when he left the sport to go into business, becoming CEO of the communications agency UniplanChristian Zimmermann, Uniplan CEO, represents Palestine in dressage at the Summer Olympics
– Uniplan.com, 26 July 2016 After an 18-year hiatus from the sport, he began competing again at the age of 44, initially for Germany.Christian Bruhe In Pursuit of Excellence in Business and Dressage
– Euro Dressage, 8 August 2013 He obtained

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

in 2011, when he became a naturalized citizen of the State of Palestine. He switched his national allegiance from Germany to Palestine in 2013, becoming one of only six Palestinian equestrians registered with the

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

. He chose to switch to Palestine after meeting a Russian diplomat with Palestinian roots, which made him think about the German role in the

history of Israel Israel, also known as the Holy Land or Palestine, is the birthplace of the Jewish people, the place where the final form of the Hebrew Bible is thought to have been compiled, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity. In the course of ...

and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. The switch also improved his chances of qualifying for the Olympic games compared to if he had competed for Germany. Zimmermann competed at the 2016 Olympics with his

Dutch Warmblood A Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland (Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN), which governs the breeding of competitive dressage and show jumping horses ...

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Aramis, he finished 57th in the Grand Prix qualifier and did not advance to the further rounds.

References

External links

* Living people 1961 births Palestinian male equestrians Palestinian dressage riders Palestinian people of German descent Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians for Palestine Naturalized citizens of the State of Palestine {{Equestrian-bio-stub