Ernst Baier (27 September 1905 in

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

– 8 July 2001 in

Garmisch Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the Oberbayern region, which borders Austria. Nearby is Ger ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

) was a German

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

who competed in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

and

single skating Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport conteste ...

. He became Olympic pair champion in 1936 together with

Maxi Herber Maxi Herber (8 October 1920 – 20 October 2006) was a German figure skater who competed in pair skating and single skating. She remains the youngest figure skating Olympic champion (at the age of 15 years and 128 days) from when she won go ...

. The duo also won several World and European championships. Ernst Baier skated for the club Berliner SC. He also enjoyed success as a single skater and won silvers at the European, World and Olympic games in singles. He competed at the European Championships in 1929, coming in seventh place, and again in 1930, coming in fifth place. He competed at the World Championships four times, between 1931 and 1934, and won two bronze medals and two silver medals. Skating with Herber, he won seven national titles, five European titles, and four World titles, in addition to their Olympic gold. The pair performed several side-by-side jumps, including side-by-side

Axel jump The Axel jump or Axel Paulsen jump, named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, is an edge jump performed in figure skating. It is the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a for ...

s at the 1934 Championships, when they won a bronze medal, likely the first side-by-side Axels competed by a pair at an ISU championship. Hines (2011), p. 31 They also developed a 'Baier lift', which was similar to a twist lift but lacking a release of Herber into the air. They did not compete in 1935 due to an injury, but returned in 1936 and as figure skating historian James R. Hines put, "were unbeatable for the remainder of the prewar period". They won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 1936. Herber and Baier married after their skating career ended in 1940. They had three children and divorced in 1964. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

they skated in ice shows; they created their own, which was later sold to Holiday on Ice. He also worked as an architect and coach. They were elected to the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located at the Broadmoor Resort in Co ...

in 1979. On 15 May 1965 he married the Swedish figure skater Birgitta Wennström (born 10 November 1935 in Enskede, Stockholm, Sweden) known by the stage name "Topsy" from Holiday on Ice together with her partner Steve. They had a daughter in 1968, but divorced in 1973. Some years later he remarried Maxi Herber, but they later divorced again.

Results

(men's singles) (pairs with

)

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baier, Ernst 1905 births 2001 deaths German male pair skaters German male single skaters Figure skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Zittau Figure skaters from Saxony 20th-century German sportsmen

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