Peru's Wettstein spurred on by memory of Durand

(Reuters) - Peru's Nicolas Lionel Wettstein says he was inspired to chase his Olympic equestrian dreams when he watched French rider Pierre Durand win a gold medal in the individual jumping event at the 1998 Seoul Games. "When I was seven I watched the Olympics in Seoul 1988 and saw Jappeloup and Pierre Durand winning gold. I decided then that this is what I want. It has been a long dream," Wettstein said. Wettstein will ride with 15-year-old Nadeville Merze, who he has partnered for 10 years. "From A to Z we are in this together. I did not want him to feel left alone. It was the right decision," Wettstein said. The Olympic debutant rider, originally a French and Swiss dual citizen, earns his living as a sales representative for a pharmaceuticals company, but adopted Peru as his country. "I was always a citizen of the world and fell in love with the country and its people," he added. (Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)