Eric Frenzel has won everything there is to win in Nordic Combined – and he has done so several times. But the Saxon still wants to achieve one goal in his 17th elite season, which starts in a few weeks: to leave the great Björn Dählie behind and become the sole world championship medal record holder at the end of February 2023 in Planica.
Eric Frenzel’s motivation for what is now his 17th World Cup season in the Nordic Combined is by no means exhausted. The soon to be 34-year-old is setting his sights on a big goal in order to add another milestone to his fabulous career. At the end of February 2023, the Nordic World Ski Championships will take place in Planica, Slovenia – Frenzel wants to become the most successful male athlete in the Nordic skiing guild there, he emphasized in an MDR interview at the end of October during a training camp in Oberhof.
First hurdle: The World Cup ticket in the strong DSV team
So far, the 17-time World Cup medal winner still shares the medal record with the Norwegian cross-country legend Björn Dählie. The first hurdle to overcome is the ticket for Planica. “It’s not easy to qualify. We have a good, young team. It will be enough of a challenge to be among the top five for us,” says Eric Frenzel with respect for the German competition.
In addition, Frenzel connects the “great hope” with the “special highlight” of the World Championships “to finally experience a ski festival with many fans, family and friends like before the pandemic”. The rather cheerless memories of the last major event – the past Winter Olympics in the rigorous corona bubble of Beijing and Zhangjiakou – are contributing to the anticipation for this winter.
Frenzel: “I realize that I’m not 25 anymore”
“I didn’t feel so comfortable with all the trappings. It wasn’t what characterizes such ski festivals. The flair all around, the moments, I missed that kick a bit,” admits the Saxon. After all, the 2022 Olympics had come to a sportingly conciliatory end for Frenzel. To eleven-day corona quarantine and three missed competitions he celebrated with the Relay Silver. It was the sixth medal overall for the three-time gold medalist in his fourth Olympic appearance. In general, last season, which he finished in a respectable fourth place in the overall World Cup rankings, showed: “Okay, hey, that’s still possible. I can definitely keep working at that level.”
But how long does he want to do the competitive sport grind? “My decision on how to proceed will be made in March. It’s just not right to decide something like this before the big event and the competitions are even behind you. That’s what I’m concentrating on now without any background noise,” emphasizes Frenzel.
And what about his current form, almost four weeks before the start of the new World Cup round in Ruka, Finland? “I realize that I’m not 25 anymore,” smiles the veteran, “but I feel fit. The summer went well, I coped well with everything.” Also in jumping – the personal worry discipline of recent times – he is “on the right track”.
Concerns about the future of Nordic Combined
Since this summer it has been less clear than ever on what path his sport is on. “The ‘Nordic Combined’ product fits. We have very exciting competitions, we have a certain variety in our competitions,” says Eric Frenzel. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seems to see it differently. At the end of June, the IOC denied the inclusion of NoKo women’s competitions in the 2026 program in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
And without women, that too NoKo men’s Olympic survival beyond 2026 in question. “You have to see how stronger nations can support weaker nations,” says Frenzel. Especially in terms of technicians and support teams, the smaller nations could “dock in to make it easier for them to get into the World Cups and beyond.” But that can only be a suggestion for the future of Nordic Combined.
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