At the end of his active biathlon career, Erik Lesser celebrated two top results. The victory in the pursuit at the legendary Holmenkollen even prompted a special action by Michael Rösch. The Olympic champion had to redeem a piquant bet.
You can’t end your sporting career much better than Erik Lesser: On the final World Cup weekend, the German biathlon star was in top form again. With his victory in the pursuit, Lesser created a real sensation in Oslo.
Michael Rösch had no longer expected the 33-year-old to be so successful. Finally, the relay Olympic champion from 2006, in his role as a TV expert, was carried away to make a bet.
“If Erik Lesser wins this, I’ll go bald,” was the former biathlete’s hairy announcement.
Ultimately, Lesser actually raced to first place in the race at Holmenkollen – and Rösch kept his word.
The 38-year-old posted a video on Instagram that provides the evidence. “This race was tearing your hair out,” joked Rösch.
Erik Lesser “absolutely flabbergasted” after the last biathlon weekend
Lesser was also able to convince in his final appearance in the mass start on Sunday. After catching up, the two-time world champion just barely missed the podium in fourth place.
“I would never have dreamed that I would fight for the podium again in the end. I’m absolutely amazed, I can’t quite deal with it, especially with the win,” said Lesser in an interview with “ZDF”. He must “pull himself together so that I don’t become too soft”.
Now Lesser says goodbye to biathlon retirement. The native of Suhler will probably remember his last World Cup weekend for a long time. And Rösch also has a very personal souvenir of the Holmenkollen sensation, at least for a while.