Liesl Tesch
Liesl Tesch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 by | Kathy Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Inclusion, Families and Communities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 26 April 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister | Kate Washington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier | Chris Minns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Melinda Pavey (as Parliamentary Secretary for Stronger Communities and Families, and the North Coast) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Liesl Dorothy Tesch 17 May 1969 Brisbane, Queensland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician, Paralympian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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.