From the IBU Cup to the ARD studio to World Cup silver

By Thomas Debelyak from Antholz

“I'm incredibly happy that I was able to present myself like this after my shitty season” - a sentence that shows how big the burden is that has been lifted from Erik Lesser. The 31-year-old from Thuringia - a three-time Olympic medalist and now a six-time World Cup medalist - has experienced a real plague year so far, but has now shown that he can still do it. Thanks to an extremely strong performance, he and Franziska Preuß won it Silver medal in the single mixed relay .

“It’s an extremely cool feeling, a satisfaction. “It feels great,” said Lesser after the competition. The ski hunter had actually not met the World Cup standard in advance and only came to Antholz as a substitute. But the coaches put their trust in him for the single mixed relay, and he repaid it together with Preuss. The gold medal was even possible until the last shooting, but Lesser missed a target in the duel with Johannes Thingnes Bø.

But the 31-year-old was still overjoyed with silver. Especially when you consider how the last few weeks and months have gone. A chronic lack of form was also accompanied by physical problems. Lesser therefore had to return to the second-class IBU Cup again and again to find his form. When the biathlon spectacle began in Antholz last week, the German was in Martell, where he was able to demonstrate his improvement in form with a second place. A dance of joy on the podium “It was a tough time, I was out of shape. The coaches still believed in me and gave me their trust,” said a completely relieved Lesser at the press conference. It is still unlikely that he will be used in the relay on Saturday - he is “only” the substitute. In any case, he will fly to Minsk that same evening to take part in the European Championships.

By the way: On Wednesday, Lesser was still sitting in the ARD studio and commented on the men's individual competition as an expert. He was not considered for this competition. 24 hours later he was beaming from the podium - which is why his reaction immediately after the race was all too understandable: he did a little dance of joy on the podium. The World Cup also writes such special stories.

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From the IBU Cup to the ARD studio to World Cup silver

Victory in the single mixed relay went to Norway on Thursday, but one of the special World Cup fairy tales was written by the German Erik Lesser.

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