Liesl Tesch

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Liesl Tesch

| honorific_suffix = AM MP

| image = 070912 - Liesl Tesch - 3b - 2012 Summer Paralympics (cropped).jpg

| imagesize =

| alt =

| caption = Tesch celebrates at the 2012 London Paralympics with her gold medal

| office = Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Gosford

| majority =

| term_start = 8 April 2017

| term_end =

| predecessor = Kathy Smith

| successor =

| office1 = Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Families and Communities

| term_start1 = 26 April 2023{{cite news |title=Minns Labor Government Parliamentary Secretaries announced {{!}} NSW Government |url=https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/minns-labor-government-parliamentary-secretaries-announced |access-date=22 November 2023 |publisher=Department of Premier and Cabinet |date=26 April 2023 |language=en-AU}}

| term_end1 =

| premier1 = Chris Minns

| minister1 = Kate Washington

| predecessor1 = Melinda Pavey (as Parliamentary Secretary for Stronger Communities and Families, and the North Coast)

| birth_name = Liesl Dorothy Tesch

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|5|17|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Australian

| party = Labor

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = Politician, Paralympian

| website =

| module= {{Infobox sportsperson|

| embed = yes

| headercolor = green

| textcolor = yellow

| height =

| weight =

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport |Wheelchair basketball }}

}}

Liesl Dorothy Tesch AM (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician. She is a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Gosford since the 2017 Gosford state by-election.

Tesch became an incomplete paraplegic after a mountain bike accident at the age of 19. She competed in her national wheelchair basketball team at five paralympics, winning three medals, and was the first woman to play the sport professionally. She took up sailing in 2010, winning gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics with partner Daniel Fitzgibbon.

Early life

Tesch was born in Brisbane on 17 May 1969.{{cite web |url=http://www.ausport.gov.au/olym96/parabask.html |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20000119130000/http://www.ausport.gov.au/olym96/parabask.html |archive-date=19 January 2000 |title=Australians at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics: wheelchair basketballers |publisher=Australian Sports Commission |access-date=21 October 2012}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In a 2012 interview, she described her parents as "alternative" and said of her father that he would have rather philosophised than worked "because he didn't like working for a capitalist society. ... We lived off the land as much as we could, eating roadkill."{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/sport/at-home-with-liesl-tesch-20120825-24t20.html |title=At home with Liesl Tesch |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |first=Daniel |last=Lewis |date=26 August 2012 |access-date=21 October 2012}} She grew up in Brisbane, New Zealand, and the Lake Macquarie suburb of Coal Point, and attended Toronto High School.{{cite web |url=http://www.mygosford.tv/residents-stories/18-liesl-tesch |title=Residents' stories: Liesl Tesch |publisher=MyGosfordTV |date=7 March 2012 |access-date=21 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928104506/http://www.mygosford.tv/residents-stories/18-liesl-tesch |archive-date=28 September 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/308547/a-golden-tribute-from-a-daughter-to-her-mum/ |title=A golden tribute from a daughter to her mum |publisher=The Newcastle Herald |first=Damon |last=Cronshaw |access-date=21 October 2012 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809220758/http://www.theherald.com.au/story/308547/a-golden-tribute-from-a-daughter-to-her-mum/ |url-status=live }} She participated in basketball, swimming, sailing, windsurfing, and cycling as a child,{{cite web |url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=NCH1003131C5HB6EIRK0 |title=A life less ordinary |publisher=The Newcastle Herald |date=13 March 2010 |first=Jade |last=Lazarevic |page=12 |access-date=22 October 2012}} and was part of the state basketball team in years 11 and 12 at high school.{{cite news |url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news001018_0655_8405 |title=Bright basketballer to hand out lesson |publisher=The Newcastle Herald |date=16 October 2000 |page=29 |access-date=22 October 2012}} At the age of 19, she broke her back after a mountain-bike accident, becoming an incomplete paraplegic. She received a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Education from the University of Newcastle.

Competitive career

=Wheelchair basketball=

File:43 ACPS Atlanta 1996 Basketball Liesl Tesch.jpg

{{quote box

|quote=I have no doubt that my life has changed – it's hard to say for the better because of this catastrophe thing – but I definitely take lots of opportunities now because they're there. I think if I would have had this accident in other countries in the world there's a good chance I would have been dead, even, so every day I pack stuff

in because I can. I have to have my head on and my mind open.

| source = Liesl Tesch

|align=left

|width=20%

}}

Tesch started playing wheelchair basketball after one of her physiotherapists noticed how skilled she was at shooting with a foam basketball and perspex backboard during her rehabilitation.{{cite web |url=http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/Promotions/Paralympiansponsorshipprogram/Pages/LieslTesch.aspx |date=30 August 2009 |title=Liesl Tesch |publisher=WorkCover Authority of New South Wales |access-date=9 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110328234007/http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/Promotions/Paralympiansponsorshipprogram/Pages/LieslTesch.aspx |archive-date=28 March 2011}} Shortly after entering the New South Wales state team, she was invited to try out for and made the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team in 1990, making her national debut at that year's World Championships and her Paralympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.{{cite web |url=https://www.paralympic.org/liesl-tesch |title=Liesl Tesch |website=Paralympic.org |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |access-date=21 October 2012}} She was named to the All Star Five at the 1994 Gold Cup, where the Australian team won a bronze medal.{{cite web |url=http://www.basketball.net.au/index.php?id=608 |title=Liesl Tesch |publisher=Basketball Australia |access-date=22 October 2012}} She was part of the Australian team at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, and was named Most Valuable Player at the 1998 Gold Cup. She was the vice-captain of her country's team at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, where she won a silver medal. During celebrations after the games, some players from Europe invited her to play in professional men's teams there. She accepted this suggestion, and played in Madrid, Sardinia, and Paris for the next five years, thus becoming the first woman in the world to play wheelchair basketball professionally. She helped establish a women's wheelchair basketball league on the continent and competed in women's teams in Italy and France. She also competed in the silver medal-winning Australian team at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. She returned home to captain the national squad at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. In 2010, Tesch competed with her team in the Osaka Cup, a competition for the top five women's international wheelchair basketball teams in the world; her team defeated the number one ranked American team 55–37.{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=4851 |title=Meet the Sydney Uni Wheelchair Flames |date=30 April 2010 |access-date=9 September 2011 |publisher=Sydney University |first=Shari |last=Wakefield}} She was a 4-point player.{{cite web |url=http://www.basketball.net.au/index.php?id=1211 |publisher=Basketball Australia |access-date=18 November 2011 |title=2010 WC Team}} She retired from the national wheelchair basketball squad in 2011 to concentrate on sailing.

She admires Dawn Fraser, describing her as "a fellow bad girl not afraid to speak her mind". At the Beijing Paralympics, she smuggled a turtle that she had bought at a market into the Paralympic village, and named it "Tibet" after being ordered to remove it. She was famous for dyeing her hair green and gold during her Paralympic wheelchair basketball career.

=Sailing=

File:060912 - Daniel Fitzgibbon & Liesl Tesch - 3b - 2012 Summer Paralympics.jpg

Tesch participated in the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on Sailors with Disabilities. After seeing an SBS documentary about the journey, Beijing silver medallist Daniel Fitzgibbon contacted her in late 2010 and they formed a sailing partnership. Sailing the two-person SKUD 18 with Fitzgibbon, the team had immediate success, winning gold at the ISAF Gold Cup in January 2011{{cite web |url=http://yachte.com/news/story.asp?story=31732 |title=Gold for Australian Paralympic crew at Miami OCR |last=Heydon |first=Craig |date=29 January 2011 |publisher=Yachting Australia |access-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617133428/http://yachte.com/news/story.asp?story=31732 |archive-date=17 June 2012}} and a bronze medal at the IFDS World Championships in July of that year.{{cite web |url=http://oldwebsite.paralympic.org/Media_Centre/News/Sport_News/2011_11_04_b.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415/http://oldwebsite.paralympic.org/Media_Centre/News/Sport_News/2011_11_04_b.html |archive-date=15 April 2013 |title=Britain's Rickham and Birrell to Challenge in Melbourne |date=4 November 2011 |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |access-date=22 October 2012}} They won a gold medal with a race to spare at the London 2012 Paralympic sailing competition held at Weymouth and Portland.{{cite web |url=http://www.sailing.org/paralympics/london2012/news/32207.php |title=Australia's Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch win SKUD18 gold with a race to spare |publisher=International Sailing Federation |date=5 September 2012 |access-date=21 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107003421/http://www.sailing.org/paralympics/london2012/news/32207.php |archive-date=7 November 2012}} Tesch's mother had died of cancer after her first day of racing at the games; shortly after winning the gold medal, she said it was "a beautiful way to celebrate my mum's life to win gold on a beautiful sunny day at the Paralympic Games".

File:Australian paralympian Liesl Tesch conducted wheelchair basketball clinics in Vientiane to help raise awareness of disability and bring attention to UXO victim assistance in laos. Laos 2010. Photo- AusAID (10674802805).jpg, Laos (2010)]]

At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Tesch teamed with Fitzgibbon to win the two-person SKUD 18 class.{{cite web |title=Results |url=http://www.ifdsworlds2014.ca/images/ifds/results//SKUD%2018%20Overall%20Final.htm |website=IFDS Worlds 2014 website |access-date=25 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924033020/http://www.ifdsworlds2014.ca/images/ifds/results//SKUD%2018%20Overall%20Final.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015}} Tesch and Fitzgibbon won the 2015 IFDS World Championships in Melbourne.{{cite news |last1=Tate |first1=Andrew |title=Para World Sailing Championships: Australian pair undefeated and on track for Rio |url=http://www.smh.com.au/sport/sailing/para-world-sailing-championships-australian-pair-undefeated-and-on-track-for-rio-20151202-gldl1a.html |access-date=2 December 2015 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=2 December 2015}} Tesch and Fitzgibbon won the bronze medal in the SKUD 18 class at the 2016 World Championships held in Medemblik, Netherlands.{{cite web |title=2016 Para World Sailing Championship |url=http://www.sailing.org/news/39792.php |website=World Sailing website |date=28 May 2016 |access-date=31 May 2016}}

On 20 June 2016, Tesch was robbed of her bicycle at gunpoint while on a fitness ride with her physiotherapist in Rio de Janeiro, in preparation for that year's Paralympics. She was uninjured but shaken after the attack.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-21/australian-paralympian-liesl-tesch-held-up-at-gunpoint-in-rio/7528110 |title=Paralympian Liesl Tesch robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro |work=ABC News |first=Emma |last=Tonkin |date=21 June 2016 |access-date=21 June 2016}} Tesch and Fitzgibbon won back to back Paralympic gold medals by winning the SKUD18 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. They won eight out of 11 races and came second in the other three.{{cite web |title=2-Person Keelboat (SKUD18) – Standings |url=https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/sailing-standings-sa-2-person-keelboat-skud18 |website=Rio Paralympics Official site |access-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923075845/https://www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/sailing-standings-sa-2-person-keelboat-skud18 |archive-date=23 September 2016}}

Political career

In February 2017, Tesch was selected by the Labor Party to contest the Gosford state by-election. The New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Gosford had been held by the Labor Party's Kathy Smith, who had resigned due to ill health.{{cite news |last1=Gerathy |first1=Sarah |title=Criticism after Paralympic champion Liesl Tesch picked by ALP for Gosford seat |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-24/gosford-by-election-candidate-alp-paralympian-liesl-tesch/8299318 |access-date=5 March 2017 |work=ABC News |date=24 February 2017}} Tesch won the election, held on 8 April 2017.{{Cite NSW Parliament |name=Ms Liesl Dorothy Tesch, AM |former= |access-date=5 May 2019 |id=2228}}{{cite news |url=http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/04/09/05/37/labor-paralympian-liesl-tesch-claims-nsw-seat-of-gosford |title=Labor candidate Liesl Tesch claims NSW seat of Gosford |date=9 April 2017 |access-date=9 April 2017 |newspaper=Nine news}}

Following the election of the Minns government at the 2023 New South Wales state election, Tesch was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Families and Communities.

Personal life

Before entering politics, Tesch worked as a high school teacher.

In 2010, she co-founded Sports Matters, a charity that promotes sport for people with disabilities in developing countries.{{cite web |url=http://www.sportmatters.org.au/history.php |title=History |publisher=Sport Matters |access-date=21 October 2012 |archive-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316132543/http://www.sportmatters.org.au/history.php |url-status=dead }}

She lives with her partner, Mark, a boatbuilder and frequent competitor in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race; the couple met while preparing for the competition in 2009.

Recognition

File:AustralianParalympianOfTheYear 133.JPG

In 2000, Tesch received an Australian Sports Medal.{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/977596 |title=Tesch, Liesl: Australian Sports Medal |publisher=It's an Honour |access-date=22 October 2012 |archive-date=12 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412063409/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=977596&search_type=quick&showInd=true |url-status=live }} She and Fitzgibbon were jointly named as Sailors of the Year with a Disability in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.australiansailingteam.com.au/?Page=1317&MenuID=Events%2F115%2F948%2F23996%2CAustralian_Yachting_Awards%2F141%2F27332%2F%2CHonour_Rolls%2F1021%2F0%2F0 |title=Sailor of the Year with a Disability |publisher=Australian Sailing Team |access-date=22 October 2012}} She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for significant service to sport as a gold medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and through the promotion and facilitation of sport for people with disabilities."{{cite news |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/australia-day-honours-list-2014-in-full/story-fni0cx12-1226808786064 |title=Australia Day honours list 2014: in full |date=26 January 2014 |access-date=26 January 2014}} In November 2014, Tesch shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Daniel Fitzgibbon, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris, Russell Boaden and Matthew Bugg. The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship.{{cite web |title=Stellar night for Australian sailing at Yachting Australia Awards 2014 |url=http://www.yachting.org.au/stellar-night-at-ya-awards-2014/ |website=Yachting Australia News |date=1 November 2014 |access-date=22 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129050141/http://www.yachting.org.au/stellar-night-at-ya-awards-2014/ |archive-date=29 November 2014}} Tesch and Fitzgibbon won the 2014 NSW Sports Award for Team of the Year with a Disability.{{cite web |last1=Zillich |first1=Cora |title=Fitzgibbon and Tesch claim top NSW Sports Award for Team of the Year |url=http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Fitzgibbon-and-Tesch-claim-top-NSW-Sports-Award-for-Team-of-the-Year/131732 |website=Sail World |date=20 February 2015 |access-date=19 March 2015}}

In November 2014, Tesch was awarded The Primary Club of Australia's Sir Roden Cutler Award acknowledging an outstanding sporting achievement by an athlete with a disability.{{cite web |url=http://www.primaryclub.com/2014/08/30/liesl-tesch-recipient-of-the-2014-sir-roden-cutler-award/ |title=Liesl Tesch – Recipient of the 2014 Sir Roden Cutler Award |publisher=The Primary Club of Australia |date=30 August 2014 |access-date=28 October 2015 |archive-date=4 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104232457/http://www.primaryclub.com/2014/08/30/liesl-tesch-recipient-of-the-2014-sir-roden-cutler-award/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=100738 |title=Primary Club's 40th anniversary dinner |publisher=Trybooking |access-date=28 October 2015}} In November 2015, Tesch and Fitzgibbon were awarded Yachting Australia's 2015 Sailor of the Year with a Disability.{{cite web |title=Belcher and Ryan lead all-star night at Yachting Australia Awards |url=http://www.yachting.org.au/belcher-and-ryan-lead-all-star-night-at-yachting-australia-awards/ |website=Yachting Australia website |date=9 November 2015 |access-date=10 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202023506/http://www.yachting.org.au/belcher-and-ryan-lead-all-star-night-at-yachting-australia-awards/ |archive-date=2 February 2016}} In 2016, Tesch was inducted into Basketball Australia's Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=MICHELE TIMMS TO BE IMMORTALISED AS A LEGEND ALONGSIDE SEVEN INDUCTEES IN AUS BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME |url=http://www.basketball.net.au/michele-timms-to-be-immortalised-as-a-legend-alongside-seven-inductees-in-australian-basketball-hall-of-fame/ |publisher=Basketball Australia |date=28 October 2016 |access-date=30 October 2016}} In 2016, she was awarded the President's Award at the Australian Sailing Awards.{{cite news |last1=Lulham |first1=Amanda |title=Paralympian Liesl Tesch picks up Australian Sailing's President's Award |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/swoop/paralympian-liesl-tesch-picks-up-australian-sailings-presidents-award/news-story/e2f2cbddba7759dbe5bb65690c1c7223 |access-date=30 October 2016 |work=Daily Telegraph |date=30 October 2016}} At the 2016 Australian Paralympic Committee awards, she was awarded the Uncle Kevin Coombs Medal for the Spirit of The Games.{{cite web|url=https://www.paralympic.org.au/2016/12/six-inducted-into-the-australian-paralympic-hall-of-fame/|title=Six inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame|publisher=Australian Paralympic Committee|date=9 December 2016|access-date=5 October 2023}} In November 2017, Tesch and Daniel Fitzgibbon were inaugural inductees to the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.{{cite web |url=https://sailinghalloffame.org.au/inductee/daniel-fitzgibbon-oam-and-liesl-tesch-am/ |title=Daniel Fitzgibbon OAM and Liesl Tesch AM |website=Australian Sailing Hall of Fame website |access-date=22 October 2019}} In 2022, she was inducted into the New South Wales Hall of Champions.{{Cite web |date=20 October 2022 |title=NSW Hall of Champions announces six new inductees |url=https://www.sportnsw.com.au/news/nsw-hall-of-champions-announces-six-new-inductees/ |access-date=21 October 2022 |website=Sport NSW}}

In 2024, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-24 |title=Sport Australia Hall of Fame announces eight new Inductees for 2024 {{!}} Sport Australia Hall of Fame |url=https://sahof.org.au/sport-australia-hall-of-fame-announces-eight-new-inductees-for-2024/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |language=en-US}}

References

External links

{{World Sailing|liesl-tesch|id=AUSLT8}}
{{IPC profile|liesl-tesch}}
{{Paralympics Australia|liesl-tesch}}
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114700/http://www.australiansailingteam.com.au/?ID=59545 |title=Liesl Tesch – Australian Sailing Team Profile |date=dmy}}
[http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/05/19/4007206.htm Conversation with Richard Fydler, ABC Local Conversations, 19 May 2014]