Romy Kermer (later Oesterreich; born 28 July 1956) is a German

figure skating 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 Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

coach and former competitive

pair skater 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 a ...

. With Rolf Oesterreich, she is the 1976 Olympic silver medalist.

Personal life

Romy Kermer was born on 28 July 1956 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 ...

(

Chemnitz 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 ...

Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt The Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt, also known as Bezirk Chemnitz, was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The district existed from 1952 until the Reunification of Germany in 1990. The administrative seat and the main town was Karl-Marx-Stadt, ren ...

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 ...

. After marrying Rolf Oesterreich in late 1976, she changed her name to Romy Oesterreich.

Career

Romy Kermer began skating in Karl-Marx-Stadt, where she became a pair skater. Early in her career, she competed with

Tassilo Thierbach Tassilo Thierbach (21 May 1956 – 19 April 2025) was a German pair skater. With partner Sabine Baeß, he was the 1982 World champion and a two-time European champion (1982, 1983). Biography Baeß and Thierbach were coached by Irene Sal ...

and Andreas Forner. 1972 she moved to Berlin and skated there at the club

SC Dynamo Berlin The Sports Club Dynamo Berlin was an East German sports club that existed from 1954 to 1991. It was the largest sports club of SV Dynamo, the sports association of the security agencies. The club was reformed after German reunification and succe ...

. Her coach was Heidemarie Seiner-Walther. She continued to represent SC Karl-Marx-Stadt until 1973, when she changed clubs as well. Her pair skating partner became Rolf Oesterreich. Kermer/Oesterreich won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics 1976 in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. In March 1976, they were both awarded the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

for their Olympic success. Romy Oesterreich became a figure skating coach at the club SC Berlin. One of her students,

Philipp Tischendorf Philipp Tischendorf (born 7 June 1988) is a German former competitive figure skater. He is the 2007 German national silver medalist and competed at two ISU Championships. Personal life Philipp Tischendorf was born on 7 June 1988 in Berlin, Germa ...

, won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix 2005 in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Results

With Rolf Oesterreich

With Andreas Forner

References

SC Berlin e.V.

Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kermer, Romy 1956 births Living people Figure skaters from Chemnitz German female pair skaters Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for East Germany East German female figure skaters Olympic silver medalists for East Germany German figure skating coaches Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Female sports coaches Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze SC Dynamo Berlin sportspeople Sportspeople from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt East German sports coaches