Tassilo Thierbach

Tassilo Thierbach

Tassilo Thierbach and Sabine Baeß in 1982 in Karl-Marx-Stadt

nation

German Democratic Republic

birthday

May 21, 1956

place of birth

Karl-Marx-Stadt, GDR

size

170 cm

Weight

71 kg

Career

discipline

Pair skating

Partner

Sabine Baeß

society

SC Karl-Marx-Stadt

Trainer

Irene Salzmann

status

resigned

End of career

1984

Medal table

World Cup medals	1 ×	2 ×	2 ×
EM medals	2 ×	1 ×	1 ×

World figure skating championships
bronze	Vienna 1979	Couples
silver	Hartford 1981	Couples
gold	Copenhagen 1982	Couples
silver	Helsinki 1983	Couples
bronze	Ottawa 1984	Couples
European figure skating championships
bronze	Zagreb 1979	Couples
gold	Lyon 1982	Couples
gold	Dortmund 1983	Couples
silver	Budapest 1984	Couples

Tassilo Thierbach (born May 21, 1956 in Karl-Marx-Stadt ) is a former German figure skater who started in pair skating for the GDR .

His figure skating partner, with whom he competed internationally, was Sabine Baeß . The couple trained with Irene Salzmann at SC Karl-Marx-Stadt . Before Sabine Baeß became his figure skating partner, Thierbach also ran with Romy Kermer , Antje Heck , Petra Ronge and Sylvia Walter. With Antje Heck he finished third at the GDR championships in 1973.

The couple Thierbach / Baeß made their debut at GDR championships in 1976 and finished third behind Romy Kermer and Rolf Oesterreich as well as Manuela Groß and Uwe Kagelmann . In the following year, Thierbach and Baeß took third place at national level. In Helsinki they contested their first European championship and finished it in fifth place, one place behind the reigning GDR champions Manuela Mager and Uwe Bewersdorf . Also in 1978 they ranked one place behind their compatriots at the European Championships . As the GDR runner-up, they took fourth place. A few weeks later, they contested their first world championship in Ottawa and finished fifth.

Thierbach and Baeß at the GDR championships in 1979 in Karl-Marx-Stadt

1979 brought the first medals for Tassilo Thierbach and Sabine Baeß. They won bronze both at the European Championships in Zagreb and at the World Championships in Vienna . It was the first time that they started as reigning GDR champions . At the end of 1979 they won the first edition of the Skate America Grand Prix competition . In the 1980 Olympic year, Thierbach and Baeß defended their national championship title, but as fourth they missed a medal at both the European and World Championships . They finished their first Olympic Games in Lake Placid in sixth place.

After the end of the 1980 season, Tassilo Thierbach had to undergo meniscus surgery, so the couple was absent from the GDR and European championships in 1981 . However, their return was successful. In Hartford they became vice world champions behind Irina Vorobjowa and Igor Lissowski from the Soviet Union.

1982 was the most successful year for the Thierbach / Baeß couple. First they won the GDR championships , then they became European champions in Lyon and finally world champions in Copenhagen . This makes Tassilo Thierbach and Sabine Baeß the only figure skating couple from the GDR who could win a European championship title and the only GDR couple who could win a world championship title.

In 1983 they defended their national title and also their European championship title in Dortmund . At the World Championships in Helsinki , however, they just had to bow down to Jelena Walowa and Oleg Wassiljew from the Soviet Union and be satisfied with the silver medal. In 1984 Thierbach and Baeß became East German champions for the fifth and last time . At the European Championships in Budapest they won the silver medal behind Walowa and Vasiliev. A little later they contested their second Olympic Games in Sarajevo and finished them in fourth place. Thus they were denied an Olympic medal. The World Cup in Ottawa was the last tournament in Thierbach and Baeß's careers. They ended their careers by winning the bronze medal behind Canadians Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini as well as Walowa and Wassilijew. It was the last World Cup medal for a figure skating couple from the GDR.

With the resignation of Thierbach and Baeß in 1984 an era came to an end. They were the last successful GDR couple in figure skating. With one gold medal and two silver and two bronze medals, they are the most successful GDR couple at world championships and with two gold medals and one silver and bronze medal each, they are also the most successful GDR couple at European championships.

From 1977 until the fall of the Wall , Thierbach worked under the code name Gehrhard as an unofficial employee for the Ministry for State Security . At the figure skating base in Karl-Marx-Stadt, he spied on his club mates Anett Pötzsch and Katarina Witt, among others .

Until 2007, Thierbach ran a company in the machine industry in Saxony . Since summer 2008 he has been working as a pair running trainer in Ingo Steuer's team .