FIS News
Athlete of the Week: Eric Frenzel (GER)
It is no secret that Eric Frenzel is one of the superstars of the discipline of Nordic Combined and has to be named in a row with the biggest of the big names of the ultimate winter athletes like Hannu Manninen, Ronny Ackermann, Bjarte Engen Vik, Felix Gottwald or Kenji Ogiwara but with yesterday’s third TRIPLE title in Seefeld, Eric Frenzel has made himself immortal in the annals of the sport. Not only because it was the third consecutive victory in the TRIPLE by winning each event of the mini tour or because it was his eleventh consecutive win in the Austrian venue of Seefeld but first and foremost by the way in which Frenzel took the title.
Everything seemed to be going right for Frenzel on the first two days: good jumps on the hill and smart and strong races had the German dominator cruising to two victories and heading into the last event with an advantage of 25 seconds. Then the weather changed. Heavy, wet snowfall that continued well through Sunday caused multiple postponements and the change of the competition format to one jump and 10 kilometres of racing. Frenzel’s closest opponent Akito Watabe delivered on the jumping hill once more and then disaster struck: Frenzel crashes after a 97.5 metre-jump: first position gone, 25 seconds of advantage turned into 56 seconds of time behind. Game over, no triple TRIPLE win… or at least so more or less everybody thought.
But the heavy snowfalls which seemed to play right into Watabe’s hands also felled the Japanese on the track and Frenzel proved those qualities that make him into a superstar once more: an unquenchable thirst for victory and and an iron will that had him powering around the course and really overtaking a completely exhausted Watabe on the final uphill, turning almost impossible odds around.
This definitely was one of the amazing legendary stories that sports history is written of and will be recounted for many years to come. Hats off to Eric Frenzel, a true Nordic Combined legend and champion. Not only because of the performances on the track but also because of his actions behind the finish line when the winner and the beaten opponent hugged in mutual respect before celebration and further obligations called. No Hollywood screenwriter could have written this story better. Thanks for these amazing memories, Akito Watabe and Eric Frenzel.
Source: fis-ski.com
Everything seemed to be going right for Frenzel on the first two days: good jumps on the hill and smart and strong races had the German dominator cruising to two victories and heading into the last event with an advantage of 25 seconds. Then the weather changed. Heavy, wet snowfall that continued well through Sunday caused multiple postponements and the change of the competition format to one jump and 10 kilometres of racing. Frenzel’s closest opponent Akito Watabe delivered on the jumping hill once more and then disaster struck: Frenzel crashes after a 97.5 metre-jump: first position gone, 25 seconds of advantage turned into 56 seconds of time behind. Game over, no triple TRIPLE win… or at least so more or less everybody thought.
But the heavy snowfalls which seemed to play right into Watabe’s hands also felled the Japanese on the track and Frenzel proved those qualities that make him into a superstar once more: an unquenchable thirst for victory and and an iron will that had him powering around the course and really overtaking a completely exhausted Watabe on the final uphill, turning almost impossible odds around.
This definitely was one of the amazing legendary stories that sports history is written of and will be recounted for many years to come. Hats off to Eric Frenzel, a true Nordic Combined legend and champion. Not only because of the performances on the track but also because of his actions behind the finish line when the winner and the beaten opponent hugged in mutual respect before celebration and further obligations called. No Hollywood screenwriter could have written this story better. Thanks for these amazing memories, Akito Watabe and Eric Frenzel.
Source: fis-ski.com
