It is with regret and sorrow that the ISU learned of the passing of former ISU World Pair Skating Champion Tassilo Thierbach (GDR) who passed away on April 19, 2025 at the age of 68 years.

Mr. Thierbach was born on May 21, 1956 in Chemnitz (then Karl-Marx-Stadt). Karl-Marx-Stadt was a center of Figure Skating in what was then the German Democratic Republic (GDR) that produced many Olympic, World and European Champions. Mr. Thierbach started skating in the 60s. When he was eight, he was discovered by coach Irene Salzmann and trained to become a Pair Skater from the very beginning as he was considered too old to learn the compulsory figures.  

Mr. Thierbach skated with various partners and won a bronze medal at the National Championships in 1973 with Antje Heck. However, his breakthrough came later when he teamed up with Sabine Baess in 1974. The couple won their first medal, a bronze, at the National Championships in 1976 and debuted at the ISU European Championships in 1977, placing fifth. Two years later, Baess/Thierbach claimed bronze at the ISU European and World Championships. They won a total of five World and four European medals including the World title in 1982 and two European titles in 1982 and 1983. Baess/Thierbach competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 1980 and 1984, finishing sixth and fourth. 

Baess/Thierbach were technically very strong and became the first Pair to perform a throw triple toeloop in competition. The couple from Chemnitz were the only Pair Skaters from the German Democratic Republic to win a World title and they were also the most successful East German Pair at the ISU European Championships. 

Sabine Baess & Tassilo Thierbach (GDR) 1984 Winter Olympics, Sarajevo ©ISU

They retired in 1984 from competitive skating with a World bronze medal, which was the last World medal won by a Pair Skating team from the GDR. The GDR ceased to exist in 1990 because of the reunification of East and West Germany.

“We were supporting each other, cheering for each other and encouraging each other,” 1980 Olympic Champion Annett Poetzsch, who trained with Mr. Thierbach in the same club, recalled in an interview for the German TV channel MDR. 

Following his retirement, Mr. Thierbach pursued a career outside the sport and managed his own business until 1999. However, he remained connected to the Figure Skating family and began to coach in Chemnitz in 2008.

Mr. Thierbach lost his battle against cancer on April 19 in his home town. 

He will be remembered fondly by the Skating family in Germany and beyond as a talented and committed person.

The ISU pays tribute to Mr. Thierbach’s legacy and will remember him with affection.