# Erik Lesser

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**Erik Lesser** (born 17 May 1988) is a German former [biathlete](/source/Biathlon). In [2010](/source/2009-10_Biathlon_World_Cup), he ran his first single [World Cup Race](/source/Biathlon_World_Cup). At the [2014 Winter Olympics](/source/2014_Winter_Olympics) in [Sochi](/source/Sochi), he won a silver medal at [Men's individual](/source/Biathlon_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_individual).[1] At the [Biathlon World Championships 2013](/source/Biathlon_World_Championships_2013) he won a bronze medal with the German team in [Men's relay](/source/Biathlon_World_Championships_2013_%E2%80%93_Men's_relay).

His grandfather [Axel Lesser](/source/Axel_Lesser) competed in cross-country skiing for East Germany at the [1976 Winter Olympics](/source/1976_Winter_Olympics).[2]

## Career

Erik Lesser, grandson of [Axel Lesser](/source/Axel_Lesser), lives in [Zella-Mehlis](/source/Zella-Mehlis) and trained mainly in [Oberhof](/source/Oberhof,_Germany). His coach is [Mark Kirchner](/source/Mark_Kirchner), before [Peter Sendel](/source/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](/source/Ruhpolding) at his first [Junior World Championship](/source/Biathlon_Junior_World_Championships), where he was seventh in the individual, 16th in the sprint, and eighth in the pursuit. A year later, he won in [Canmore](/source/Canmore,_Alberta) 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](/source/Simon_Schempp), [Benedikt Doll](/source/Benedikt_Doll) and [Florian Graf](/source/Florian_Graf) he took a gold medal. In the summer, he won the Junior Summer World Championships in [Oberhof](/source/Oberhof,_Germany), taking the sprint and pursuit titles on roller skis.

In his World Cup debut in [Kontiolahti](/source/Kontiolahti) on 12 March 2010, Lesser finished second in the German mixed relay with [Kati Wilhelm](/source/Kati_Wilhelm), [Magdalena Neuner](/source/Magdalena_Neuner) and [Simon Schempp](/source/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](/source/2010-11_Biathlon_World_Cup), he improved his performance, and at [Holmenkollen](/source/Holmenkollen) in [Oslo](/source/Oslo), he finished 24th in the pursuit and 40th in the sprint. At the first race of the [2013](/source/2012-13_Biathlon_World_Cup) in [Östersund](/source/%C3%96stersund), 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](/source/Biathlon_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics) in [Sochi](/source/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](/source/Cross-country_skiing_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_50_kilometre_freestyle) and finished 42nd among 64 starters.

In the [2015 World Championships](/source/Biathlon_World_Championships_2015), 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](/source/International_Biathlon_Union).

### Olympic Games

*3 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)*

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Relay Mixed Relay 2014 Sochi Silver 21st 16th 26th Gold – 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 — rowspan="4" 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](/source/2009-10_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Kontiolahti](/source/Kontiolahti), 2nd in mixed relay (with [Wilhelm](/source/Kati_Wilhelm) / [Neuner](/source/Magdalena_Neuner) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2012](/source/2012-13_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Östersund](/source/%C3%96stersund), 3rd in individual
- [2013](/source/2012-13_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Oberhof](/source/Oberhof,_Germany), 3rd in team relay (with [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Graf](/source/Florian_Graf))
- [2013](/source/2012-13_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Holmenkollen](/source/Holmenkollen), 3rd in mass start
- [2013](/source/2012-13_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Sochi](/source/Sochi), 2nd in team relay (with [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Doll](/source/Benedikt_Doll))
- [2013](/source/2013-14_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Annecy](/source/Annecy), 2nd in pursuit
- [2013](/source/2013-14_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Annecy](/source/Annecy), 2nd in team relay (with [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2014](/source/2013-14_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Ruhpolding](/source/Ruhpolding), 2nd in team relay (with [Stephan](/source/Christoph_Stephan) / [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2014](/source/2013-14_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Antholz](/source/Rasen-Antholz), 3rd in team relay (with [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2015](/source/2014%E2%80%9315_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Ruhpolding](/source/Ruhpolding), 2nd in team relay (with [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2015](/source/2014%E2%80%9315_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Antholz](/source/Rasen-Antholz), 2nd in team relay (with [Boehm](/source/Daniel_Boehm) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2015](/source/2014%E2%80%9315_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Holmenkollen](/source/Holmenkollen), 2nd in team relay (with [Birnbacher](/source/Andreas_Birnbacher) / [Peiffer](/source/Arnd_Peiffer) / [Schempp](/source/Simon_Schempp))
- [2016](/source/2015%E2%80%9316_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Ruhpolding](/source/Ruhpolding), 1st in mass start
- [2022](/source/2021%E2%80%9322_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Kontiolahti](/source/Kontiolahti), 2nd in pursuit
- [2022](/source/2021%E2%80%9322_Biathlon_World_Cup), , [Holmenkollen](/source/Holmenkollen), 1st in pursuit

## References

1. ["Athletes – Erik Lesser"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140719230207/http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-erik-lesser). *Sochi2014.com*. [Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi](/source/Organizing_Committee_of_the_XXII_Olympic_Winter_Games_and_XI_Paralympic_Winter_Games_of_2014_in_Sochi). Archived from [the original](http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-erik-lesser) on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Erik Lesser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Lesser) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Lesser?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.