[2] Fischer, who stands at 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and weighs 85 kg (187 lb), was born in Schmalkalden, Thuringia (former East Germany).

His apparent talents for athletics was discovered early and already in third grade he was training three times a week in the BSG Werkzeugkombinat sports club.

In September 1983, the boarding school Kinder- und Jugendsportschule (KJS) accepted him on a biathlon youth scholarship.

He instead started training for international sport events, but in 1989, when Fischer was eighteen, he had problems with both his kneecaps after a growth spurt as a youth: "I grew too fast and didn't stretch well.

However, in the 1990 season when he came back he found that he had become more powerful than before his injury, and in December 1990, he celebrated his first European cup victory in sprint in Hochfilzen.

In the 2004/05 season Fischer lost the World Cup by only eleven points, which he most probably would have earned had he competed in the final race of the year, but he missed it because of a cold.