TT - Eric Frenzel: "Kuusamo
is something special!"
Eric Frenzel - NordicFocus
As the season draws nearer and nearer, of course
we had to catch up with World Champion and overall
World Cup winner Eric Frenzel. In this edition of
TUESDAY TALK, the 24-year-old German talks about
the pressure of being the hunted, the excitement
of the upcoming season and the hustle and bustle
of media and sponsor dates.
Eric, you're definitely going into the season as
"the hunted one", as World Champion and
reigning overall World Cup winner. Is this putting
more pressure on you as you have something to lose
as this Olympic season comes closer or does it actually
help you to stay calm as nobody can take your successes
away from you anymore?
Eric Frenzel: I don't think I am putting more pressure
on myself before this season. I will be going to
Kuusamo exactly like the others, without any advantages.
When the season starts we all start at zero, so
I have no fears of actually losing anything. My
past successes have surely been great for my confidence.
I know what I am able to achieve and had many experiences
I can draw back on now but this is something which
you have to learn to use in a positive way for yourself.
How would you rate your preparations over the summer
in comparison to other years? Has everything gone
according to plan?
Frenzel: My summer preparation has gone really well,
I had no problems with my health or injuries. I
was also able to attend a lot of appointments but
without neglecting my training over this. This hasn't
been easy because we wanted to extend the training
volumes for the cross-country part even more which
basically means you need more time to do it but
it has worked out quite well and everything is developing
as planned.
You just mentioned sponsor and media commitments.
Can you tell us a little more about what you did
in this regard over the summer?
Frenzel: Sure. My biggest highlights were the "Champion
of the Year"-award and the shooting of my TV
spot for Zurich Sports. The shooting of this commercial
was something really special for me as it was my
first shoot of this scope. I am very proud to work
together with a partner as big as Zurich Insurances.
We had a lot of fun shooting the commercial and
the whole crew was so nice even though it was a
very full one and a half days! In my opinion, the
final result looks really great.
The "Champion of the Year"-award was a
very nice event once again. It is a great opportunity
to get to know a lot of medal winners from all the
other sports, to go on a holiday for a week and
meet everyone in a relaxed atmosphere. Of course
it was a pity that again, I didn't win the award
but I certainly hope there will be more chances
to win it in the next years.
Other than that I had a bunch of other, smaller
events for my sponsors or foundations.
Do you generally feel that the media interest is
growing before this Olympic season? Is it hard to
not have this influence the training too much?
Frenzel: I would certainly say there is a bigger
interest but this is the way it should be. It is
a very positive development. This being said, of
course it is hard to arrange everything: training,
regeneration, family, my studies and all these appointments.
I had to make sure that it all went smoothly without
my training or my family suffering for it. But my
family is supporting me and my coaches have had
a very active role in enabling me to do certain
media and sponsor activities which made everything
so much easier.
What are your goals for the first part of the season
now?
Frenzel: For me it's important to get a good start
into the season. The faster I am getting into a
good shape in the jumping part, the better. Due
to that, I don't have any goals that can be measured
in results and ranks but I am aiming to do things
the right way. I will see what the results will
be and where I have to improve some more.
What would you say, why can you take the Olympic
gold medal? What is your strong suit in contrast
to the competition?
Frenzel: Well, if I told you this now, everybody
would know it, right? (laughs) I am afraid I can't
let that secret out just yet!
What are you looking forward to the most when you
think of Kuusamo?
Frenzel: Hmm, how can I say it… Kuusamo is something
special. You could say it's always cold, always
windy and always dark but when you're there you
know: it's beginning now, the season is really here.
I am definitely looking forward to the competitions
because I like the hill and the track!
