Saint Augustine –
Karl-Richard and Johannes Frey experienced their greatest sporting success together: At the Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan), the judoka and the German mixed team won bronze. Olaf Pohl spoke to the brothers from Sankt Augustin.
The Olympic Games were already five months ago – how have you been since then?
Karl-Richard Frey: Thanks to the bronze medal in the team competition, I was once again able to take part in the “Club of the Best” at the invitation of Deutsche Sporthilfe. Together with many other top German athletes and a companion, in this case my brother Gerrit, I spent a holiday week in southern Spain. After all the exertion I was able to let my mind wander.
Johannes Frey: For me the recovery was short-lived. First of all, I had to heal my hip injury from the Olympic team competition. At the beginning of September a training phase for my Federal Police career began in Kienbaum. So I spend the winter half of the year with buffalos and kettledrums for the final exam.
Which Olympic experiences will you tell your children or grandchildren about?
Johannes Frey: For me, taking part in the Olympics with my big brother was a dream come true. I will tell my grandchildren about this and encourage them to realize their own dreams. But I will also explain to them that you have to fight for it. Things don’t fall into your lap.
Karl-Richard Frey: We not only have something to tell, but also something to show. Namely the beautiful bronze medal with the goddess of victory Nike on one side and the Olympic emblem of Tokyo on the other.
Before Christmas, the new national trainer invited Pedro Guedes to a training camp at the Federal Police Sports School in Kienbaum. What’s the bottom line?
Karl-Richard Frey: There are ideal conditions for a training camp with the national team. The school offers everything a judo heart desires. The new national coach sees it that way too. The next joint stay will be there shortly. The downside is the six to seven hour drive there.
Full commitment also in training: Johannes (left) and Karl-Richard Frey.
Johannes Frey: When the federal squad is not training at the sports school, the judoka of the federal police, like me, are looked after by the ex-national trainer Detlef Ultsch. A good solution because he knows us very well.
How do you cope with the dual burden of training and education?
Johannes Frey: I have to set priorities. In the next few weeks, the focus will be on preparing for the theoretical exams. One or the other training session is canceled. I am happy that the national coach has my back free.
You have both decided to go ahead and set your sights on the 2024 Olympics in Paris – why?
Karl-Richard Frey: Judo is our life. I noticed that there was still more potential slumbering in me. In Tokyo – like in Rio 2016 – I only just missed a medal in the individual competition. The short cycle leading up to the games in Paris and the trust placed in the new national coach helped me make the decision. I am a fighter and I really want to reach for a medal again.
Johannes Frey: After the games is before the games. We’ll do it again. Even better. And even more successful.
The German individual championships in Stuttgart were postponed from January to September. Do you regret that?
Johannes Frey: For me, because of the career test, they weren’t my top priority. Of course I would have tried to deliver – the podium is always the goal. But health protection comes first, so the rejection is understandable. I will be fully back into training in March at the latest, in order to be able to take part in international competitions again soon afterwards.
Karl-Richard Frey: After the long break from competition, I was looking forward to the DM. Now my brother and I will try to win both titles in the weight class up to and over 100 kilograms again in autumn – like in 2018.
How is the general situation in judo in relation to the pandemic for you?
Johannes Frey: There is no end in sight to the restrictions. The pandemic is slowing us down, but it cannot stop us entirely. We very much hope that the youngsters will not give up and remain loyal to the clubs. We have to do our great sport, at every level and in all age and weight classes – even and especially in difficult times.
Karl-Richard Frey: Absolutely. We were both sick with Corona and were in quarantine in the hot phase of the Olympic qualification abroad. But we both recovered, vaccinated and tested almost every day. We fall and get up again. We are judoka – falling and getting up are simply part of it.
.
