Laura Eckle GER and Natcha Frenkel THA in action during the Freestyle Skiing Women’s Dual Moguls at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort. The Winter Youth Olympic Games, Gangwon, Republic of Korea, Saturday, 27th January 2024. ANOC/Luiza Moraes. Handout image supplied by OIS/IOC.Natcha Frenkel THA in action during the Freestyle Skiing Women’s Dual Moguls at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort. The Winter Youth Olympic Games, Gangwon, Republic of Korea, Saturday, 27th January 2024. ANOC/Luiza Moraes. Handout image supplied by OIS/IOC.Natcha Frenkel THA in action during the Freestyle Skiing Women’s Dual Moguls at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort. The Winter Youth Olympic Games, Gangwon, Republic of Korea, Saturday, 27th January 2024. ANOC/Luiza Moraes. Handout image supplied by OIS/IOC.
Natcha Frenkel was born on the 13th of October 2006 in Nong Bua Lamphu, Thailand. She spent the first years of her life in Thailand, later moved to Zermatt, Switzerland at the age of 4.
In Zermatt she joined the ski club. After a few years, she switched from alpine to mogul skiing. To her, it was a more exciting discipline, which she enjoyed more.
From then on, Natcha trained with her father, with the freestyle club of Zermatt, the swiss development team and after she joined the mogul team in Châtel, France.
Natcha skied in the junior circuit of France, where she achieved many places on the podium , as well as many wins, also winning the French Championships in the under 14 category.
Unfortunately because of the corona epidemic, the competitions came to a halt, where Natcha decided to quit. She wanted to focus on school and attend the Gymnasium in Brig, where she‘s currently studying.
Even though Natcha decided to stop skiing competitively, she still continued in the moguls for fun.
After a 3 year hiatus, Natcha missed the competitions and decided she wanted to start again.
Her former trainer, mr. Andrea Rinaldi, current director of the FIS Freestyle Moguls and Aerials Races, suggested her to participate in the Junior World Championships.
Because this was Natcha‘s first international competition, she got in contact with the ski and snowboard association of Thailand. After the approval from the SSAT she represented Thailand at the JWC 2023 in Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy.
The initial comeback wasn‘t as successful as she had hoped for, returning home with a knee injury, yet full of motivation.
After 3 months of rehab, Natcha did a lot of skiing and ramp training over the summer.
Now she‘s back at school and training in her home mountains on the weekends looking forward to the upcoming season.
Freestyle skiing is an artistic competition performing aerial acrobatics while freely gliding down a slope, and because of its diversified nature, an analogy is often drawn with a circus on the snow. Unlike Alpine Skiing where athletes compete for speed, Freestyle Skiing characteristically allows athletes to compete in aerial skills such as back flips and twists. The Olympic Winter Games include 10 freestyle skiing events: Moguls, Aerials, Ski Halfpipe, Ski Cross, and Ski Slopestyle. Continue reading “Freestyle skiing”
Freestyle skiing is an artistic competition performing aerial acrobatics while freely gliding down a slope, and because of its diversified nature, an analogy is often drawn with a circus on the snow. Unlike Alpine Skiing where athletes compete for speed, Freestyle Skiing characteristically allows athletes to compete in aerial skills such as back flips and twists. The Olympic Winter Games include 10 freestyle skiing events: Moguls, Aerials, Ski Halfpipe, Ski Cross, and Ski Slopestyle. Continue reading “Freestyle skiing”