Paralympic great Liesl Tesch robbed at gun point in Rio ‘safe area’

SIX-TIME Paralympian Liesl Tesch has revealed she was robbed at gun point on a Rio street during a training camp at the weekend, less than two months out from the Olympics.

Paralympics great Liesl Tesch was robbed at gun point in a supposed safe area on Rio’s streets.

SIX-TIME Paralympian Liesl Tesch has revealed she was robbed at gun point on a Rio street during a training camp at the weekend, less than two months out from the start of the XXXI Olympics.

Tesch, of Woy Woy, who won gold with sailing partner Dan Fitzgibbon at the London Paralympics in 2012, said the incident happened on Sunday morning (Brazil time), when she and a team official were returning to their accommodation at Flamengo Beach from a routine bike ride.

“It happened on Sunday morning, at about 7.45am, near a bus stop and about 50m away from a fun run,” Tesch said. “All of a sudden there were two men in front of us; I braked and the woman with me crashed into the back of me.”

Happier times: Liesl Tesch, pictured with Daniel Fitzgibbon after winning at the para world sailing championships in Melbourne last year.

One man pointed a gun at Tesch’s legs and made what she believed was a demand for money.

“I pulled up my shirt to show I didn’t have anything,” she said. “He then pointed the gun at my chest and demanded something else in Portuguese that I didn’t understand.”

The men ended up pushing both women onto the cobblestones and took off on their bikes.

Both were shaken but uninjured, with Tesch surprising herself with how calm she was. They reported the incident to local police.

“Because I’m an athlete I’m used to periods of really high adrenaline where you need to operate in the best way in that moment,” she said. “In my head I just kept thinking, ‘don’t yell, just do what he wants’.”

Liesl Tesch had a terrifying moment in Rio at the weekend when she was robbed at gun point..

The incident came to light late on Monday, the same day as the launch of the Australian Paralympic team at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.

While Tesch said there was upgraded security in the park alongside where the incident took place, she said it happened so quickly that they wouldn’t have noticed.

“Even if they were scanning the park, they would have seen two women riding bikes and then, all of a sudden, two men riding bikes,” she said.

Champion Paralympian Liesl Tesch, of Woy Woy, will return to the Coast on Wednesday night after her scare in Rio on Sunday.

Rather than being concerned for herself, Tesch’s thoughts after the incident were for athletes and supporters coming to Rio for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I want to make people aware of what has happened and also for people to appreciate how lucky we are in Australia,” she said.

The Australians had been exercising caution while in Rio for a training regatta, with the incident happening in an area not deemed dangerous for the athletes.

“After this incident, it means everywhere is the dangerous part,” Tesch said.

Tesch, who will be back on the Central Coast on Wednesday night, said the incident would not stop her competing at her seventh Paralympics.

TRAVEL WARNING

AUSTRALIAN Government website smartraveller.gov.au lists Brazil as a country where travellers need to exercise a “high degree of caution”.

The official advice is due to “high levels of serious and violent crime, particularly in major cities. You should pay close attention to your personal security at all times.”

Originally published as Paralympic great Liesl Tesch robbed at gun point in Rio ‘safe area’