One might think that this winter duel would tire the athlete sooner. Always these two opposing disciplines – first flying lightly and then skating until you black out. And those days of competition, from early morning to late afternoon. Finally, the frustrating thing: Most of the time there are hardly any spectators along the route, although they could have celebrated podium finishes. And yet Eric Frenzel will probably miss his beloved and demanding sport from now on after he jumped his last jump on the hill in Lahti on Sunday and ran his last meters in a World Cup cross-country ski run.
Trainers in Nordic combined probably feel the same when they step down from active coaching. Their job is planning, they are supposed to improve their athletes’ jumping and skating skills, right up to the end their own sprint units in the competition – when they sprint in the snow next to their combined athletes on the cross-country ski run to yell at them one last burst of motivation, for example that the opponent is already blue, which is often not true.
Farewell after 27 years: In the era of national coach Hermann Weinbuch, six Olympic victories and 15 world championship titles alone fell.
(Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa)
Hermann Weinbuch, the long-time German combined national coach, and Eric Frenzel, his long-time combined model student, ended their active careers at the weekend. Another veteran achieved the best German result at the last World Cups of the winter: Johannes Rydzek finished fifth in Lahti on Sunday. Frenzel crossed the finish line in 39th place in the last race of his career, wearing a thank you jersey donated by the world association, slipped through a line of skis among his colleagues and then said: “I never referred to the records. It was more important to me than a person and to do well as an athlete.” He found his walkout “phenomenal”.
Three weeks ago his competitor, Norway’s exceptional talent Jarl Magnus Riiber – who won his 57th World Cup on Sunday – said at the World Championships: “Thank you for everything, Eric. You are a true legend.” Frenzel and Weinbuch may get involved in their sport in one form or another. The caesura is still big. Weinbuch, once a successful Nordic athlete himself, has shaped this sport for four decades, 27 years alone as national coach. His expertise is internationally respected, from the training methodology for the juniors to the successful blueprint for an Olympic victory. Six gold medals at winter games came during his time as national coach, as well as 15 world championship titles.
As an 18-year-old, Frenzel turned to solidity – he became a father
Eric Frenzel, coached by Weinbuch, won the first of his two individual Olympic gold medals at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. It was about the middle of Frenzel’s career, which lasted around a decade and a half, despite surprises in sport and in other life. At the age of 18, at an age when you still want to jump somewhere else in life, Frenzel turned to solidity: he became a father. His girlfriend and today’s wife was 15 years old at the time, both ultimately agreed that Frenzel should take the risk and pursue the niche sport of combination.
He then became the most successful German combined athlete, a role model for the younger ones, at least for those who are willing to sacrifice some things for success. Frenzel had to grow up early, which means he missed a lot. On the other hand, he found a second home on the ski jump and in the cross-country ski run, where he was willing to suffer for success.
After a cross-country finish, people in thin suits lie in the snow in the finish area, eyes closed, mouths open, their chests bouncing up and down like a piston, until they finally come to rest, get up and step down. Frenzel had also experienced this – most recently at his final major event, the 2023 World Championships in Planica, where he contributed to the silver medal as the starting runner of the relay. Frenzel, weighing 57 kilograms, had cultivated his willingness to torture himself early on. In addition to an effective jumping technique and a seemingly springy running style, he was able to get more out of himself than most of the others. To the point of fainting.
At the Olympic Games in Beijing a year ago, Corona had thinned out teams shortly before the competition and forced athletes into hotel quarantine for days. Frenzel was also affected, and when he was finally allowed to go on the Olympic cross-country ski run after several days, he got carried away. As the third runner in the relay, he exhausted himself so much that he lost consciousness, was taken to the hospital and initially didn’t notice anything about the outcome of the race.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been that exhausted in my life – and that says something given the time I’ve been doing the sport,” he said later. The fact that the team won silver was somewhat lost. Such extreme performances were still rare, Frenzel’s style was the tactically superior victory, often based on a comfortable lead in the cross-country ski run, which he had worked out while jumping.
His 18 World Cup medals are unmatched so far
Frenzel has won seven Olympic and 18 World Championship medals at Nordic championships, he has also won 54 World Cups and five consecutive overall World Cups in the winters between 2012/13 and 2016/17. With his 18 World Cup medals, he has left everyone behind in the record list, including the Norwegian cross-country skiing specialist Bjørn Dæhlie. And yet he too will eventually be overtaken in the statistics, perhaps by the Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber, the combined athlete, who can jump and run almost as well as the specialists.
Frenzel recently remarked: “I don’t need any more confirmation.” He knows that at some point his era will fade, and with it that of coach Weinbuch, but both of them will be able to deal with it well because they have always celebrated great victories in front of a few spectators – and remained realistic, in this sport called Nordic Combined.
