FIS News
Athlete of the Week: Eric Frenzel (GER)
The last competition weekend of the Nordic Combined World Cup with the TRIPLE as the first big highlight of the winter left many speechless in awe. This is including German Nordic Combined superstar Eric Frenzel who returned in his role as the great dominator after a slightly slower and more inconspicuous start into the season.
„I can’t really believe it myself at this point“, Frenzel said after his big win. „This is one of the weekends that I did not see coming. I came here with a good feeling, yes, but I did not have the expectation to come here and win with three victories in a row. I am overjoyed right now and just trying to enjoy it.“
And really, discussions about favourites before the TRIPLE surely included the 26-year-old but also many other big names as for example Magnus Moan, teammate Fabian Rießle, Jason Lamy Chappuis among others. The elite of the Nordic Combined World Cup was as close as rarely before.
Enter the TRIPLE Eric Frenzel. With a cool that rivals a top-notch poker player, he managed to flip the switch from being a good athlete to an outstanding one, right on time for the most important weekend of the winter. Whatever difficulties, physical and mental ones, were thrown into his way, he took them in stride and stroke back. From jumping in snowy conditions to difficult winds, from being close to the leaders in the cross-country to having to make up more time, from having a shorter jump in the first round of jumping to coming back with an outstanding one in the second round, 5, 10, 15 km, Eric Frenzel plays the (Klaviatur) of Nordic Combined like a master pianist - not a single wrong note in sight.
As Frenzel was apparently also equipped with nerves like iron cords, many had just one question in the course of the TRIPLE weekend: can this guy actually lose? „Apparently not right now“, Frenzel joked after his second win and went to enjoy the attentions of his family and the huge fan club which had traveled to Seefeld to lend noisy support to their superstar. For them, it was a dream weekend come true. For Frenzel, this was the next step taking him from a superstar of the discipline to a true legend - at the tender age of 26.
„I can’t really believe it myself at this point“, Frenzel said after his big win. „This is one of the weekends that I did not see coming. I came here with a good feeling, yes, but I did not have the expectation to come here and win with three victories in a row. I am overjoyed right now and just trying to enjoy it.“
And really, discussions about favourites before the TRIPLE surely included the 26-year-old but also many other big names as for example Magnus Moan, teammate Fabian Rießle, Jason Lamy Chappuis among others. The elite of the Nordic Combined World Cup was as close as rarely before.
Enter the TRIPLE Eric Frenzel. With a cool that rivals a top-notch poker player, he managed to flip the switch from being a good athlete to an outstanding one, right on time for the most important weekend of the winter. Whatever difficulties, physical and mental ones, were thrown into his way, he took them in stride and stroke back. From jumping in snowy conditions to difficult winds, from being close to the leaders in the cross-country to having to make up more time, from having a shorter jump in the first round of jumping to coming back with an outstanding one in the second round, 5, 10, 15 km, Eric Frenzel plays the (Klaviatur) of Nordic Combined like a master pianist - not a single wrong note in sight.
As Frenzel was apparently also equipped with nerves like iron cords, many had just one question in the course of the TRIPLE weekend: can this guy actually lose? „Apparently not right now“, Frenzel joked after his second win and went to enjoy the attentions of his family and the huge fan club which had traveled to Seefeld to lend noisy support to their superstar. For them, it was a dream weekend come true. For Frenzel, this was the next step taking him from a superstar of the discipline to a true legend - at the tender age of 26.
Source: fis-ski.com
