Erik Lesser

Lesser in 2018
Personal information
Nationality	German
Born	(1988-05-17) 17 May 1988 (age 35) Suhl, East Germany
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon
Club	SV Eintracht Frankenhain
World Cup debut	2010
Olympic Games
Teams	2 (2014, 2018)
Medals	3 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams	7 (2013–2021)
Medals	7 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	11 (2010/11–2021/22)
Individual victories	2
All victories	5
Individual podiums	11
All podiums	40
Overall titles	0
Discipline titles	0
Medal record Olympic Games 2014 Sochi 20 km individual 2014 Sochi 4 × 7.5 km relay 2018 Pyeongchang 4 × 7.5 km relay World Championships 2015 Kontiolahti 12.5 km pursuit 2015 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay 2016 Oslo 4 × 7.5 km relay 2019 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay 2020 Antholz Single mixed relay 2013 Nové Město 4 × 7.5 km relay 2020 Antholz 4 × 7.5 km relay Junior World Championships 2009 Canmore 4 × 7.5 km relay 2009 Canmore 15 km individual European Championships 2010 Otepää 4x7.5 km relay 2012 Osrblie 4x7.5 km relay 2010 Otepää 12.5 km pursuit 2012 Osrblie 20 km individual

Erik Lesser (born 17 May 1988) is a German former biathlete. In 2010, he ran his first single World Cup Race. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he won a silver medal at Men's individual.^[1] At the Biathlon World Championships 2013 he won a bronze medal with the German team in Men's relay.

His grandfather Axel Lesser competed in cross-country skiing for East Germany at the 1976 Winter Olympics.^[2]

Career

Erik Lesser, grandson of Axel Lesser, lives in Zella-Mehlis and trained mainly in Oberhof. His coach is Mark Kirchner, before Peter Sendel. Lesser began cross-country skiing at the age of six and took up biathlon in 1999 at the age of eleven. A graduate of the Sports Gymnasium Oberhof, he started his competitive career with the club SV Eintracht Frankenhain.

In 2008 he started in Ruhpolding at his first Junior World Championship, where he was seventh in the individual, 16th in the sprint, and eighth in the pursuit. A year later, he won in Canmore a bronze medal in the individual competition, finished eleventh in sprint and pursuit, and took the first leg in the men's relay, where together with Simon Schempp, Benedikt Doll and Florian Graf he took a gold medal. In the summer, he won the Junior Summer World Championships in Oberhof, taking the sprint and pursuit titles on roller skis.

In his World Cup debut in Kontiolahti on 12 March 2010, Lesser finished second in the German mixed relay with Kati Wilhelm, Magdalena Neuner and Simon Schempp. In his debut in solo competition, he finished 44th in the sprint, qualifying him for the subsequent pursuit, where he finished 51st. In 2011, he improved his performance, and at Holmenkollen in Oslo, he finished 24th in the pursuit and 40th in the sprint. At the first race of the 2013 in Östersund, Lesser stood for the first time on the World Cup podium. He finished third in the individual, achieving a clear shoot.

In the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Erik Lesser won silver medals in the individual competition and with the German men's relay squad. On the final day of the Games, he also participated in the 50km cross-country freestyle race and finished 42nd among 64 starters.

In the 2015 World Championships, Erik Lesser finished fifth in the sprint race. In the ensuing pursuit, he won the gold medal and thus also celebrated his first World Cup victory. With the season's victory in the World Cup, Lesser was a double world champion.

Erik Lesser ended his career on March 20, 2022, with the races at Holmenkollen.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

3 medals (2 silver, 1 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass Start	Relay	Mixed Relay
2014 Sochi	Silver	21st	16th	26th	Silver	–
2018 Pyeongchang	9th	11th	11th	4th	Bronze	4th
2022 Beijing	67th	—	—	—	4th	—

*The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.

World Championships

7 medals (2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass Start	Relay	Mixed Relay	Single mixed Relay
2013 Nové Město na Moravě	34th	12th	14th	5th	Bronze	—	—
2015 Kontiolahti	18th	5th	Gold	17th	Gold	—
2016 Oslo	7th	19th	7th	14th	Silver	—
2017 Hochfilzen	4th	37th	28th	21st	4th	—
2019 Östersund	11th	8th	11th	27th	Silver	—	4th
2020 Antholz	—	—	—	—	Bronze	—	Silver
2021 Pokljuka	—	66th	—	—	7th	7th	7th

*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.

**The single mixed relay was added as an event in 2019.

World Cup Highlights

2010,  Finland, Kontiolahti, 2nd in mixed relay (with Wilhelm / Neuner / Schempp)

2012,  Sweden, Östersund, 3rd in individual

2013,  Germany, Oberhof, 3rd in team relay (with Schempp / Peiffer / Graf)

2013,  Norway, Holmenkollen, 3rd in mass start

2013,  Russia, Sochi, 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Doll)

2013,  France, Annecy, 2nd in pursuit

2013,  France, Annecy, 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp)

2014,  Germany, Ruhpolding, 2nd in team relay (with Stephan / Birnbacher / Schempp)

2014,  Italy, Antholz, 3rd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp)

2015,  Germany, Ruhpolding, 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp)

2015,  Italy, Antholz, 2nd in team relay (with Boehm / Peiffer / Schempp)

2015,  Norway, Holmenkollen, 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp)

2016,  Germany, Ruhpolding, 1st in mass start

2022,  Finland, Kontiolahti, 2nd in pursuit

2022,  Norway, Holmenkollen, 1st in pursuit