Rolf Thieme and his brother Axel from SC Leipzig qualified for the 1968 Mexico City Games with the East German team. East and West Germany played their only international match in a preliminary round, with West Germany winning 3-2. East Germany finished a disappointing 11th, which caused East Germany to drastically reduce financial support for field hockey. Both brothers later acted as referees and did some coaching. Rolf Thieme earned 65 international caps from 1968-71. In 1971 and 1974 he helped BSG Einheit Zentrum Leipzig win the East German national title, doing the same in 1969 with SC Leipzig.