{{Short description|German biathlete (born 1988)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox biathlete | name = Erik Lesser | image = 2018-01-15 Olympiaeinkleidung Deutschland 2018 by Sandro Halank–024.jpg | image_size = 220px | caption = Lesser in 2018 | nationality = German | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|5|17|df=yes}} | birth_place = Suhl, East Germany | height = 1.71 m | weight = 71 kg | disciplines = Biathlon | club = SV Eintracht Frankenhain | wcdebut = 2010 | olympicteams = '''2''' (2014, 2018) | olympicmedals = '''3''' | olympicgolds = 1 | worldsteams = '''7''' (2013–2021) | worldsmedals = '''7''' | worldsgolds = 2 | wcseasons = '''11''' (2010/11–2021/22) | wcwins = '''2''' | wcrelayswins = '''5''' | wcpodiums = '''11''' | wcrelayspodiums= '''40''' | wcoveralls = '''0''' | wctitles = '''0''' | show-medals = no | medaltemplates = {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}} {{MedalGold|2014 Sochi|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalSilver|2014 Sochi|20 km individual}} {{MedalBronze|2018 Pyeongchang|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalGold|2015 Kontiolahti|12.5 km pursuit}} {{MedalGold|2015 Kontiolahti|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalSilver|2016 Oslo|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalSilver|2019 Östersund|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalSilver|2020 Antholz|Single mixed relay}} {{MedalBronze|2013 Nové Město|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalBronze|2020 Antholz|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{MedalCompetition|Junior World Championships}} {{Medal|Gold|2009 Canmore|4 × 7.5 km relay}} {{Medal|Bronze|2009 Canmore|15 km individual}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships}} {{MedalGold|2010 Otepää|4x7.5 km relay}} {{MedalGold|2012 Osrblie|4x7.5 km relay}} {{MedalSilver|2010 Otepää|12.5 km pursuit}} {{MedalBronze|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.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-erik-lesser |title=Athletes – Erik Lesser |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Sochi2014.com |publisher=Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi |access-date=13 February 2014 |archive-date=19 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719230207/http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-erik-lesser |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==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 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)'' {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- " !Event !style="width:70px;"|Individual !style="width:70px;"|Sprint !style="width:70px;"|Pursuit !style="width:70px;"|Mass Start !style="width:70px;"|Relay !style="width:70px;"|Mixed Relay |- | align=left |{{flagicon|RUS}} 2014 Sochi | style="background:silver"| '''Silver''' | 21st | 16th | 26th | style="background:gold"| '''Gold''' | – |- | align=left |{{flagicon|South Korea}} 2018 Pyeongchang | 9th | 11th | 11th | 4th | style="background:#cfaa88;"| '''Bronze''' | 4th |- | align=left |{{flagicon|China}} 2022 Beijing | 67th | — | — | ''—'' | 4th | — |} :''*The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.''
===World Championships=== ''7 medals (2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)'' {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- " !Event !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Individual !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Sprint !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Pursuit !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Mass Start !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Relay !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Mixed Relay !style="text-align:center; width:70px;"|Single mixed Relay |- | align=left |{{flagicon|CZE}} 2013 Nové Město na Moravě | 34th | 12th | 14th | 5th | style="background:#cfaa88;"| '''Bronze''' | — | rowspan="4" {{n/a}} |- | align=left |{{flagicon|FIN}} 2015 Kontiolahti | 18th | 5th | style="background:gold"| '''Gold''' | 17th | style="background:gold"| '''Gold''' | — |- | align=left |{{flagicon|NOR}} 2016 Oslo | 7th | 19th | 7th | 14th | style="background:silver;"| '''Silver''' | — |- | align=left |{{flagicon|AUT}} 2017 Hochfilzen | 4th | 37th | 28th | 21st | 4th | — |- | align=left |{{flagicon|SWE}} 2019 Östersund | 11th | 8th | 11th | 27th | style="background:silver;"| '''Silver''' | — | 4th |- | align=left |{{flagicon|ITA}} 2020 Antholz | — | — | — | — | style="background:#cfaa88;"| '''Bronze''' | — | style="background:silver;"| '''Silver''' |- | align=left |{{flagicon|SVN}} 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, {{FIN}}, Kontiolahti, {{silver2}} 2nd in mixed relay (with Wilhelm / Neuner / Schempp) :2012, {{SWE}}, Östersund, {{bronze3}} 3rd in individual :2013, {{GER}}, Oberhof, {{bronze3}} 3rd in team relay (with Schempp / Peiffer / Graf) :2013, {{NOR}}, Holmenkollen, {{bronze3}} 3rd in mass start :2013, {{RUS}}, Sochi, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Doll) :2013, {{FRA}}, Annecy, {{silver2}} 2nd in pursuit :2013, {{FRA}}, Annecy, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp) :2014, {{GER}}, Ruhpolding, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Stephan / Birnbacher / Schempp) :2014, {{ITA}}, Antholz, {{bronze3}} 3rd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp) :2015, {{GER}}, Ruhpolding, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp) :2015, {{ITA}}, Antholz, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Boehm / Peiffer / Schempp) :2015, {{NOR}}, Holmenkollen, {{silver2}} 2nd in team relay (with Birnbacher / Peiffer / Schempp) :2016, {{GER}}, Ruhpolding, {{gold1}} 1st in mass start :2022, {{FIN}}, Kontiolahti, {{silver2}} 2nd in pursuit :2022, {{NOR}}, Holmenkollen, {{gold1}} 1st in pursuit
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IBU profile}} * {{Olympics.com |erik-lesser}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{InterSportStats}} * {{Team Deutschland}} * {{Instagram}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Biathlon Relay Men}} {{Footer World Champions Biathlon 12.5km Pursuit Men}} {{Footer World Champions Biathlon Relay Men}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Erik}} Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:German male biathletes Category:Biathlon World Championships medalists Category:Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics Category:Biathletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics Category:Biathletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic biathletes for Germany Category:Olympic gold medalists for Germany Category:Olympic silver medalists for Germany Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Category:Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Category:Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic medalists in biathlon Category:Cross-country skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic cross-country skiers for Germany Category:German male cross-country skiers Category:Sportspeople from Suhl Category:Biathletes from Thuringia Category:21st-century German sportsmen