Erik Lesser

Erik Lesser is a German former biathlete, born on 17 May 1988. He ran his first single World Cup race in 2010, won a silver medal in the men's individual at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and won a bronze medal with the German team in the men's relay at the 2013 Biathlon World Championships. His grandfather Axel Lesser competed in cross-country skiing for East Germany at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Lesser lives in Zella-Mehlis and trained mainly in Oberhof, with Mark Kirchner and before him Peter Sendel as coach. He began cross-country skiing at the age of six and took up biathlon in 1999 at eleven, graduated from the Sports Gymnasium Oberhof and started his competitive career with the club SV Eintracht Frankenhain. At the 2009 Junior World Championships in Canmore he won a bronze medal in the individual and a gold medal in the men's relay with Simon Schempp, Benedikt Doll and Florian Graf.