Liesl Tesch

Liesl Tesch
Tesch celebrates at the 2012 London Paralympics with her gold medal
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Gosford
Assumed office
8 April 2017
Preceded byKathy Smith
Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Families and Communities
Assumed office
26 April 2023[1]
MinisterKate Washington
PremierChris Minns
Preceded byMelinda Pavey (as Parliamentary Secretary for Stronger Communities and Families, and the North Coast)
Personal details
Born
Liesl Dorothy Tesch

(1969-05-17) 17 May 1969 (age 55)
Brisbane, Queensland
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor
OccupationPolitician, Paralympian
Sports career
Medal record
Wheelchair basketball
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Women's wheelchair basketball
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Women's wheelchair basketball
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Women's wheelchair basketball
Sailing
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18
IFDS World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Weymouth Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18
Gold medal – first place 2014 Halifax Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18
Gold medal – first place 2015 Melbourne Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Medemblik Mixed Two Person Sailing SKUD18

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.

  1. ^ "Minns Labor Government Parliamentary Secretaries announced | NSW Government". Department of Premier and Cabinet. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.