Only the resignation in March 2022. Then ARD expert and trainer training. Now Erik Lesser wants to take off as a trainer in Oberhof.
He’s back in biathlon. Erik Lesser will work as a base trainer in Oberhof one year after his retirement, which was announced after the Beijing Olympics. The 34-year-old, who has been training as a trainer in Cologne since last year and works alongside Arnd Peiffer as an ARD expert, is mainly responsible for shooting training. “From athlete to coach in 365 days! New perspective shooter coach in Oberhof. First day of work in the books,” Lesser posted on his Instagram profile.
Ex-cross-country skier Jens Filbrich was there too
After the departure of the long-time national coach Mark Kirchner, the twelve-man Oberhof men’s training group is now also looked after by base coach Marko Danz and the former Thuringian world-class cross-country skier Jens Filbrich. Filbrich was also appointed as the new assistant coach of the national team for the new season. From August, Alexander Wolf is also to join the coaching team and secure the base work in Oberhof, among other things during the courses for the national team. The Oberhof training group includes twelve athletes, including World Cup starters Justus Strelow, David Zobel and Philipp Horn, as well as Junior World Champion Benjamin Menz.
Lesser: “Athletes should stand behind what they do”
“I’m looking forward to the new task and hope that I can also meet the expectations of the athletes,” Lesser told the “Meininger Tageblatt”. The workload is tough: he spends three weeks studying at the Cologne Sports University and one week training top athletes in Oberhof. Lesser doesn’t want to and doesn’t have to change for the new job. The ex-biathlete has always been known for being open and voicing his opinions. That’s how he wants to handle it as a coach. It’s about “that we speak the same language, that we pursue the same goal, that the athletes also stand behind what they do or change”.
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