Nüßner was born in 1935 in Plaue in Saxony, then an independent village but now a suburb of Flöha.[note 1] She learned canoeing on the Zschopau that flows through Plaue.[2][3] Standing 178 centimetres (70 in) tall and weighing 69 kilograms (152 lb) during her competitive career, she competed for Fortschritt Plaue in the 1958 East German canoe sprint championships. She came third in the K-1 500 m that year and second in the K-1 3000 m.[4][5] By 1959, she had changed club and was competing for Wissenschaft Jena. She repeated her results from the previous year and came third in the K-1 500 m and second in the K-1 3000 m.[4][5] For the 1960 season, Nüßner changed club again and from now on started for SC DHfK Leipzig.