Ilkka Herola ten years ago, there was still a yellow-billed hawk in the combined fields. At the same time, the beginning of one reign was proven in the sport.
The reign in question is German by Eric Frenzel handwriting. Frenzel, who is one of the most successful combined athletes of all time, conquered the overall World Cup race a record five times between 2013 and 2017.
In the number of victories in the World Cup competitions (43), he is the third in Norway Jarl Magnus Riiberin mixed Hannu Manninen after. Measured by the number of prestigious competition medals, he is the most successful of all time in the sport.
17-year-old Herola was immediately impressed by Frenzel. And not just because of athletic merits.
– He was one of the first athletes who made contact on his own initiative and asked for information. He was also active in the social environment towards newcomers, Herola recalls to Urheilu ten years later.
As a practical example, Herola takes the 2014 Olympics, where Frenzel won gold. At the end of the Games, Frenzel celebrated his achievement in a nightclub.
– Us Suomi boys were invited there. We didn’t have terribly many Merites, but they were still hospitable to us. That is exemplary behavior. When you leave the competition venue, everyone is equal.
On Sunday, a significant chapter ends in Salpauselkä, when Frenzel says goodbye to the combined racing fields.
“A change of his making”
Quiet. Analytical. Thoughtful. Exact.
These factors have made Frenzel an extremely tough competitor. We are talking about an intelligent individual.
– He has been able to adapt to the changes in the sport. Adapting requires being really smart. In all changes, you have to be ahead of others, and not follow from the side what others are doing.
– It is certainly a feature that has made it possible to maximize physical potential, Herola says.
Having already competed in the 2007 World Championships in Sapporo, Frenzel’s career was combined at the beginning of his career, i.e. his teenage years. In the past, there were more competition formats.
A two-lap hill race was started, followed by a 15-kilometer cross-country section. Another common form of competition was the sprint, where you jumped once and skied 7.5 kilometers.
The change meant moving mainly to one competition format in the individual competition. According to the current system, you jump once and ski ten kilometers.
The nature of the skiing section has changed. While in the past Hannu Manninen came from a few minutes behind to win, today a strong skier who jumped weakly on the hill section rarely joins the front.
The level differences have decreased both on the hill and on the trail. According to Herola, Frenzel has left his own mark on the sport.
– It was no longer enough to be good at only one sport. He was the first athlete who was able to be at a sufficient level in both sports. He showed that it is possible, says Herola.
Races began to be decided by more speed features instead of hard travel speed.
– Cross-country skiing has become faster and more fast-paced all the time. He adapted to it very quickly. The races were no longer decided by skiing one and a half minutes apart. There was group skiing and the fastest won the races, says Herola.
Frenzel was a trendsetter here.
– Frenzel was able to organize and win the group skiing. If someone was going to beat him, they had to develop the same qualities. Little by little, there were other tough letter men. However, it was because of him that the change started to go so strongly.
– Born in 1988 in Germany.
– Achieved a record five World Cup overall race wins between 2013 and 2017.
– 43 World Cup victories. Third all-time Jarl Magnus Riiberin mixed Hannu Manninen after.
– Three Olympic victories and seven Olympic medals.
– Seven world championships and 18 World Cup medals.
Reliable on the track
According to Herola, Frenzel is very popular among athletes.
– I don’t remember a single situation where he would have hurt someone’s feelings with his own behavior in the competition or outside of it.
– The nature of the ski sections is often such that they require audacity. No excesses have ever happened, Herola refers to Frenzel.
Herola and Frenzel have both been the toughest skiers at their best. The two have often started the skiing section from the same places to chase the top positions.
They have often prepared common tactics on the track. According to Herola, Frenzel is an athlete he has been able to trust on the track.
– He is one of the skiers whose work could be trusted from the start. Has known that he dares to take responsibility for the draw and doesn’t just play for his own pocket.
– It is not a given. There are a lot of athletes who you can already tell before leaving that they won’t pull even a meter. Frenzel was not one of them.
So what is the most significant of all Frenzel’s sea rituals?
Herola herself values winning the overall World Cup race the most.
– That cannot happen by luck. It requires long-term fitness and consistency, which is the salt of this sport. The fact that he has been able to win it five times is definitely quite an achievement.