A shock moment in Nordic combined: when the German athlete Eric Frenzel arrived at the finish line, he collapsed from exhaustion. TV pictures suggested that the 33-year-old even spat blood. But now the combiner gives the all-clear.
“I’m fine. It was just the enormous exhaustion and the amount of lactate that got me down at that moment,” said the 33-year-old at a press conference on Friday.
Olympia: TV pictures allowed speculation about blood
Because a red spot could be seen next to Frenzel, who was lying exhausted in the snow, fears arose that Frenzel had spat blood. The three-time Olympic champion contradicted this again. “I saw that picture too. After just a second or two, you can quickly draw this conclusion. But it wasn’t blood, it was one of the markings for the transition area,” said the sports soldier.
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Frenzel, who had just been released from the Corona quarantine three days earlier, had broken down on the third section and, after winning the silver medal, had even missed the podium at the award ceremony. A little later he had given interviews again.
Beijing is probably Frenzel’s last Olympia
Frenzel also reiterated his statement that Beijing was “most likely” his last Olympics. He only wants to decide about his further career after the end of the season. “Once the whole thing is over, I’m sure I’ll find a moment to think about it,” he said.
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