Three-time Olympic champion Eric Frenzel is hoping for an Olympic future for Nordic combined after a conversation with IOC President Thomas Bach and FIS boss Johan Eliasch.
“The conversations with Bach and Eliasch were very, very good. I was able to address a lot of things that were positive,” said Frenzel on Friday on the sidelines of the World Cup in Seefeld.
DSV head coach Frenzel represented his sport as an ambassador at the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea, where he also met Bach. The Olympic future of the combination beyond 2026 is currently uncertain, also because, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), too few nations are celebrating success.
“There are things that will continue to be monitored. But a lot of things are positive – for example, the number of nations continues to increase. Maybe in the future more nations will have a say in the combination,” said Frenzel.
However, Bach did not allow himself to be persuaded to make a clear statement. “Nothing is promised. That’s completely normal, I didn’t expect that either. It was important to me that I was able to show that the combination is on the right track.”
FIS race director Lasse Ottesen had previously also been optimistic. “Slovenians and Finns won medals at the Youth Games, that’s good. We’re on the right track, the development looks good,” said the Norwegian on ARD, but also added: “We still have work to do.”