Hermann Weinbuch: “The time has come” – Farewell to a coaching legend

Ka German success story of a sport is as closely linked to a person as Nordic combined is to Hermann Weinbuch. It felt like he was always there. Earlier as an athlete, then he trained his successor as national coach himself – for 27 years. A consistency that is hard to imagine in the coaching business across all sports. Just like Weinbuch’s track record. When he took over as national coach, the Germans didn’t have much to say at the top of the world. With him, change began.

This Sunday he is traveling home from his last major event as national coach – at the end of this World Cup season it will be over. And this time really. The 62-year-old announced this on the final weekend of the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica (Slovenia). “I think the time has come for me to step down,” said Weinbuch on ARD. The most successful trainer in winter sports is retiring.

Next to him at that moment was Nordic Combined Eric Frenzel, whose heroic status Weinbuch played a major role in: Since Frenzel entered the World Cup circus 17 years ago, he has had no other national coach at his side. “It’s very, very emotional. We experienced many beautiful moments,” says Frenzel. “He leaves a pretty big gap.” Together they celebrated Frenzel’s crowning achievement in Planica: With silver in the team competition, the 34-year-old won the 18th World Championship medal of his career and thus drew on winter sports legend Björn Dählie in terms of the number of precious metals from Norway over.

There is some evidence that this World Cup is the last major highlight of their careers. Because it’s no secret: Frenzel had already toyed with saying goodbye after the Olympic Games last winter. But then the winter games with his quarantine drama went so differently than he had hoped that he decided – also because of the euphoric games that took place without spectators: “I won’t stop like that.” And the Dählie record was everything the father of three children still wanted to achieve in his sport.

Weinbuch also won gold at the World Championships as an athlete

Frenzel is undoubtedly the most successful athlete from Hermann Weinbuch’s coaching era, but what has made the 27 years special is above all an impressive consistency at the top of the world, in which several German athletes often fought for the podium. And in which the transition to a new generation was successful again and again. The Nordic combined system, which Hermann Weinbuch helped to install in the association, worked. The combined athletes have always been one of the guarantors of success at the Winter Games and World Championships, even if there were difficult phases. “Of course he leaves a gap. So much competence over so many years – that will be difficult to fill,” said 45-year-old former overall World Cup winner Ronny Ackermann.

Not every top trainer has to have been a top athlete himself, but Weinbuch was one of them – and that was one of the building blocks of his success. He knew what it meant, could empathize with the athletes. In 1985 and 1987 he had won world titles himself – two as a team and one alone – in the 1985/86 season he won the overall World Cup.

In 1996, at the age of just 35, he took over the coaching position at the German Ski Association (DSV). Five years later, he and his team celebrated their first major success when Marco Baacke surprisingly won World Championship gold in Lahti in 2001. “Each medal has its story and is incredibly fun,” said Weinbuch in Planica. “That’s always kept me young and motivated.”

And there were many medals – his athletes won more than 50 medals at major events. For example, he led Ackermann to three Olympic medals, ten World Championship medals and 28 World Cup victories. In addition to his 18 World Championship medals, Frenzel also won Olympic gold three times, including twice with the team, won 43 World Cups and won the overall World Cup five times. Johannes Rydzek celebrated 13 World Championship medals – and then Vinzenz Geiger came with his Olympic victory in 2022. And now? Julian Schmid is currently the best German, having won World Championship silver in the first individual competition in Planica. In addition, silver with the team and in mixed. “We fought. Even if there was no medal in the last World Championship race, we will celebrate, the joy definitely outweighs it,” said Weinbuch. “The future is taken care of.”

Weinbuch: “There was helplessness”

Twice before it had looked like Weinbuch would be leaving. The association reported in 2011 that Weinbuch would like to withdraw after the 2014 Winter Games for family reasons. But things went differently.

And then came the time, about four or five years ago, when the dominance of the German athletes ended, the Norwegians took over and Weinbuch’s athletes sometimes even jumped behind. Criticism grew louder and louder. Weinbuch brought new experts into the coaching team, tried to set new impulses and questioned himself. “The situation was difficult. There was a sense of helplessness because of the jumps, and we asked ourselves: How are we supposed to do it?” he says in retrospect. At the time, he linked his tenure to his success: “I will definitely stop after the 2022 Olympics. But if we don’t catch up, maybe there will be a change sooner.”

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The dominance of the past did not return, but the German combined athletes managed to catch up and were back in the mix at the front. “The changes have taken hold. I’m particularly pleased that young people were able to catch up with the established players,” said Weinbuch.

With his resignation to the second row, an era ends. It is not yet clear who will succeed him. “I think,” he says, “we will get together in the spring and find a suitable successor.”