Et is Thursday evening at the cross-country stadium in Zhangjiakou. Nordic Combined, Olympic Games Team Competition, Round Three of Four. Eric Frenzel, 33, runs for Germany, Olympic champion in 2014 and 2018, corona patient from 2022. He was released from quarantine three days ago – and is now pushing himself with skis and sticks over a route that is classified as very difficult . On the approach to the steepest part, there are four men in the lead group. Jens Luraas Oftebro for Norway. Lukas Greiderer for Austria. Akito Watabe for Japan. And Frenzel for Germany. In the descent after the steepest part there are only three.
Frenzel breaks in on the mountain. You can see his body running out of power. He’s losing meter by meter. Later Hermann Weinbuch, national coach of the Nordic Combined will say: “The lactate shot up in his muscles. Then it was just a pure fight.” When Frenzel hands over to Vinzenz Geiger, the last German runner, the leading group can no longer be seen. The Norwegians made the switch 36.9 seconds ago. The Japanese 26.5 seconds ago. The Austrians before 26.1. But Frenzel is so exhausted that he can hardly find the strength to touch Geiger with his hand in the transition zone. After that he collapses. Where is Frenzel?