18 World Championship medals, 3 Olympic victories
NoKo legend Eric Frenzel ends a unique career
3/9/2023 5:43 p.m
Eric Frenzel shaped Nordic combined for more than a decade. The Saxon dominates at times among the world elite, wins an unprecedented 18 medals at world championships and wins gold at the Olympics three times. Now the 34-year-old announces his departure from active competitive sports.
It’s a turning point in Nordic combined: The three-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion Eric Frenzel has announced his retirement. The 34-year-old made a corresponding statement on Thursday. “At the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica I was able to win my 18th World Championships medal; I now hold the record in the history of the Nordic World Championships for a period whose end is not yet known. In addition to my Olympic victories, overall World Cup victories and medals World Championships myself, this was my last sporting goal,” Frenzel wrote.
He added: “In Planica I was able to win my first international medal, in Planica I also received my last medal. A circle has closed for me in the valley of the hills – the circle of my sporting career, which I now complete with the completion of the will finish the current season.”
Frenzel thanked his family, his coaches and the fans. “I will remain true to the sport, especially my beloved Nordic Combined – the future will show how this will take place,” said the winter sports star.
Frenzel was crowned Olympic champion on the normal hill in Sochi in 2014 and in Pyeongchang in 2018. There is also one Olympic gold medal in the team competition, two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Winter Games. 18 World Championship medals, five triumphs in the overall World Cup and numerous World Cup successes also adorn his impressive CV. Most recently, Hermann Weinbuch had already confirmed after the last World Championship race that he was retiring after 27 years as national coach of the Nordic Combined.