Rio Olympics: Robbed Paralympian fears Leisl Tesch underwater snags more than bad guys at Games

A PLASTIC bag or condoms snagged on a piece of bamboo might prevent Liesl Tesch achieving her dream of a second Olympic gold medal in Rio, but not a “baddie’’ holding a gun.

Paralympics and world champion Liesel Tesch has no fears going back to Rio. Picture: Adam Ward

A PLASTIC bag or condoms snagged on a piece of bamboo might prevent Liesl Tesch achieving her dream of a second Olympic gold medal in Rio, but not a “baddie’’ holding a gun just centimetres from her body.

Tesch, a six-time Paralympian, said even as she asked herself “is that a gun, is that really a gun” when held up and robbed in Rio last month, it never crossed her mind that she would not return for the Paralympics.

“Not for a second. It’s the nature of the city,’’ Tesch said. “We know the risks I was not surprised.’’

The six members of the 2016 Australian Paralympic Sailing Team. Picture: Adam Ward

When approached by the robber while in Rio on a training camp last month, Tesch initially though the burglar was demanding money, so she pulled her shirt up to show she had no purse on her.

Upon realising he wasn’t getting any cash, the robber pushed her off to steal the bike she was riding with a leg brace.

But Tesch, a partial paraplegic and former Australian wheelchair basketball captain, said she was adamant about making the “bloody scary’’ incident public to warn others of the dangers they may face.

Liesel Tesch and crewmate Dan Fitzgibbons. Picture: Colleen Petch

“When we are back over there we will be in the athlete bubble but our friends and family aren’t,’’ said Tesch.

“It was means to warn people to be careful.’’

Tesch said she has been helped with the shock of the incident thanks to a chance meeting on a train the day she returned from Rio but believes she has not experienced any lasting effects.

“A man in the train came up to me and said ‘are you the woman in the newspaper who was robbed in Rio’,’’ she said.

“He said he was from the Australian Defence Force and specialised in post-traumatic disorder and gave me his card.

“I talked to him later and he gave me some great advice.’’

Fitzgibbon and Tesch on the water at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in Melbourne.

Tesch and skipper Dan Fitzgibbons, a quadriplegic who was an Olympic aspirant before an accident in 2000, teamed up in the Skud 18 boat just prior to the last Games and emerged from London with a gold.

In the lead-up to Rio they have witnessed first hand the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay — complete with super bugs and dead animals, but fear obstacles underneath the water and overhead more than getting sick.

The pair have snagged their boat on plastic bags and hooked bamboo covered in condoms in the past which have impeded their progress in races.

A local airport closed during significant times during the Olympic sailing, will be reopened for the Paralympics, with wind from planes knocking boats over in lead-up events and posing a potentially regatta-ending hazard.

Representing Australia at the Paralympic sailing in Rio with the Skud crew will be Tasmanian 2.4mR sailor Matthew Bugg and the Sonar Team of Russell Boaden, Colin Harrison and Jonathan Harris.

Australia has won four medals in sailing at the Paralympic Games — two gold, one silver and one bronze — since it was introduced as a Paralympic sport at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Originally published as Rio Olympics: Robbed Paralympian fears Leisl Tesch underwater snags more than bad guys at Games