福岡国際マラソン
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.