REFILE EXTRA Frenzel clinches rare Nordic combined repeat gold

Pyeongchang, South Korea (dpa) - Germany‘s Eric Frenzel breaks a four-man leader group on the last uphill to become the first Nordic combined skier in 38 years to win back-to-back Olympic gold in the normal hill event.The five-time reigning World Cup champion was placed fifth after the jumping portion but soon caught up with the skiers ahead of him in the ensuing 10-kilometres cross-country pursuit en route to victory in 24 minutes 51.4 seconds.Japan‘s World Cup leader Akito Watabe got silver as in 2014, 4.8 seconds back, and Austrian Lukas Klapfer took bronze, 18.1 seconds back. Compatriot jumping leader Franz-Josef Rehrl faded to 13th while German world champion Johannes Rydzek was fifth, up from 11th after the jump.Frenzel is only the third man to win successive golds in the normal hill event, following Norway‘s Johan Groettumsbraten in 1932 and 1936, and East Germany‘s Frank Wehling 1972, 1976 and 1980. It was sixth gold in Pyeongchang for medal table leaders Germany.