View source for Axel Lesser

{{Short description|German cross country skier (born 1946)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}

{{MedalTableTop|Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G0303-0019-001, Axel Lesser (cropped).jpg|220px|Lesser in 1968}}
{{MedalCountry|{{GDR}}}}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]]}}
{{MedalWorldChampionships}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships|1970 Vysoké Tatry]]| 4 x 10 km}}
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'''Axel Lesser''' (born 18 April 1946 in [[Brotterode]]) is a former [[East Germany|East German]] [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skier]] who competed in the 1960s and 1970s. He earned a silver medal in the 4 x 10&nbsp;km at the [[1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships]] in [[Vysoké Tatry (town)|Vysoké Tatry]].

Lesser finished 6th in the 15&nbsp;km event at the [[1972 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sapporo]]. He also was on the 4 x 10&nbsp;km teams that finished 7th at the [[1968 Winter Olympics]] and 6th in 1972. At the [[1976 Winter Olympics]] in [[Innsbruck]], 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 [[Biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Men's individual|20km individual event]] at the [[2014 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]] |accessdate=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>

==Bibliography==
*Wallenchinsky, David (1984). 4x10-Kilometer Relay. ''The Complete Book of The Olympics.'' pp.&nbsp;618–9.
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==External links==
*[http://www.sport-komplett.de/sport-komplett/sportarten/s/ski_nordisch/skilanglauf/hst/3.html World Championship results] {{in lang|de}}
*{{FIS cross-country skier|35014|A. Lesser}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Axel}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:German male cross-country skiers]]
[[Category:Olympic cross-country skiers for East Germany]]
[[Category:East German male cross-country skiers]]
[[Category:Cross-country skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Cross-country skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Cross-country skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:National People's Army sportspeople]]
[[Category:FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing]]
[[Category:People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen]]
[[Category:Skiers from Thuringia]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bezirk Suhl]]
{{Germany-crosscountry-skiing-bio-stub}}