Axel Lesser (born 18 April 1946, in Brotterode) is a former

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

cross-country skier who competed in the 1960s and 1970s. He earned a silver medal in the 4 x 10 km at the

1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1970 took place 14–22 February 1970 in Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia). This was the second time this city hosted the event having done so in 1935. It was the first time an event was tel ...

Vysoké Tatry Vysoké Tatry (; hu, Magastátra, ; german: Höhe Tatra, ; pl, Wysokie Tatry, ; cs, Vysoké Tatry, ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that ...

. Lesser finished 6th in the 15 km event at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

. He also was on the 4 x 10 km teams that finished 7th at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

and 6th in 1972. At the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, Lesser was the second skier on the East German team that was in second place when he collided with a spectator, injured his knee, and had to abandon the race. He is the grandfather of Erik Lesser, a biathlete who won a silver medal in the 20km individual event at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Bibliography

*Wallenchinsky, David (1984). 4x10-Kilometer Relay. ''The Complete Book of The Olympics.'' pp. 618–9.

External links

World Championship results
* 1946 births Living people German male cross-country skiers Olympic cross-country skiers of East Germany Cross-country skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics National People's Army military athletes FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen Sportspeople from Thuringia {{Germany-crosscountry-skiing-bio-stub