For Eric Frenzel, the forthcoming departure is the conciliatory end to two exciting weeks in China.

The anticipation was "very great", said the combined athlete, who won the silver medal with the team, he longed to "finally be able to come home, to have my family in my arms again and to know that everything is over now “.

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

  • Follow I follow

One day after his collapse in the relay, he presented himself at a press conference of the German Olympic Sports Confederation in Zhangjiakou on Friday afternoon: "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.

Because a red spot could be seen on the ground next to Frenzel, who was lying completely exhausted in the snow, speculation arose that he might have spat blood.

The three-time Olympic champion contradicted this: "I've also seen the picture in the meantime.

After just a second or two, you can quickly draw this conclusion.

But it wasn't blood, it was one of the markers for the transition area."

Frenzel, who had only been released from the Corona quarantine three days earlier, had broken down physically on the third section and, after winning the silver medal with colleagues Vinzenz Geiger, Manuel Faißt and Julian Schmid, was also missing from the podium at the award ceremony.

"I don't think I've ever been so exhausted at the finish line in my life - and that's saying something, considering the time I've been doing this sport."

Frenzel confirmed that attending Beijing was "most likely" his last Olympics.

"I don't think I'll be competing again in four years as an active athlete." He won seven Olympic medals and was Olympic champion three times.

However, he only wants to make a decision about the further course of his career after the end of the season.

This Saturday I'm going back to Germany by plane, after a few days of rest the next World Cup in Lahti, Finland, is already on the agenda.

"Once the whole thing is over, I'm sure I'll find the moment to think about it," said Frenzel.