On Athletics Club Europe welcomes Sebastian Frey

Austrian middle distance runner Sebastian Frey is the latest addition to the On Athletics Club Europe team.

The European branch of the On Athletics Club is growing. The latest addition comes from Austria: 20-year-old Sebastian Frey is the next talented middle distance runner to join the team around head coach Thomas Dreißigacker.

Despite his young age, the native of Vienna already has an impressive track record. He is the reigning Austrian U23 5,000 m champion and stormed onto the podium in the senior ranking as third. He claimed the 10,000 m title and since Frey started running with the club in 2014, he set four national records and took part in four European championships, including a 12th place finish at the U20 European Cross Country Championships in 2021, the same year that he crowned himself U20 Balkan 3000m Champion.

Despite his early successes, Frey’s path into track and field was not conventional. Coming from a musical family, young Frey focused on playing the trumpet – which he still does today. On the recommendation of his elementary school teacher the active boy also tried his hand at running. In 2014, he took part in the kid’s race of the Wachau Marathon. A stroke of lucky, because this is how the ​ 12-year-old Frey met the Austrian steeplechaser Christoph Sander and his father Karl – an experienced P.E. teacher and coach of the Vienna-based “DSG Wien” training group. Sander immediately recognised Frey’s talent and invited him to join his training group – and so the success story began. Half a year later, young Sebastian won his first national title (U14 cross country).

Eight years later, Sebastian Frey’s development has not slowed. He just set a new personal record of 29:15 on the 10,000 m distance in May and a new 5,000 m personal best in July 2022 (13:39.86)- good prospects for the European Cross Country Championships, which Frey plans to tackle in December and the U23 European Championships 2023 in the upcoming year.

Now, it is time to take the next step and join forces with On Athletic’s Club Europe and harness the power of a team: “Being in a team is so much more fun because everyone has the same goal and works hard every day. I have always been a team player and also enjoy training in a group more than training alone. TEAM really mean ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’ to me. There is always something you can learn from each other”, Frey says about his decision to join the On Athletics Club Europe. “What sets On apart from other brands is that they take care of you as an athlete and respect your story. Every athlete is different and everyone comes from a different background and motivation. They really do a great job in bringing people together. It’s fantastic to be part of this aspiring team, all sharing a fabulous spirit and open mindset. I like that!”

“Sebastian is a really talented young guy”, Head Coach Thomas Dreißigacker says about his new athlete. “I am really happy that he joins the team because he fits perfectly in the mix of older and younger athletes that make up the team right now. We will work closely with Sebi’s longtime coach Karl Sander for all the periods that Sebi will stay in Austria. I think it will be really beneficial for him to train with more experienced athletes to continue his good development.”

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