Eckhard Lesse (born 1 December 1948) is a German former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. Lesse represented

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

and won silver in men's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

at the 1974 European Championships.

Career

Lesse represented East Germany at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, placing 24th in the 10,000 m. Lesse broke the East German marathon record for the first time in April 1972, running 2:13:19.4 in

Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

; he was the only East German selected for the 1972 Olympic marathon, where he placed 25th in 2:22:49.6. Lesse broke the national record again in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in June 1973, running 2:12:24. Later that year he placed third in the strong

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on i ...

, behind Olympic champion

Frank Shorter Frank Charles Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the ac ...

and Canada's Brian Armstrong; ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' ranked Lesse the world's second best marathoner that year. At the 1974 European Championships in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Lesse placed second to Great Britain's Ian Thompson in 2:14:57.4. Also in 1974, Lesse finished third behind Akio Usami at the British

1974 AAA Championships The 1974 AAA Championships was the 1974 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 12 to 13 July 1974 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engla ...

. He placed second to Shorter in the 1974 Fukuoka Marathon, his time of 2:12:02.4 being another East German record; that year, he was ranked third in the world, behind Thompson and Shorter. Lesse was ranked in the world's top ten for a final time in 1975, when he placed fifth in Fukuoka in 2:12:42.6. Lesse remained active in sports after his athletic career, and was president of his sports club,

SC Magdeburg The SC Magdeburg is a professional handball club from Magdeburg, Germany. The team plays in the highest German league, the Handball-Bundesliga and regularly in highest international competitions. They won the EHF Champions League in 1978, 1981, ...

, in late 2009 and early 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesse, Eckhard 1948 births Living people People from Ballenstedt East German male long-distance runners East German male marathon runners Olympic athletes for East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists SC Magdeburg athletes Athletes from Bezirk Halle