Paralympian Liesl Tesch picks up Australian Sailing’s President’s Award

SHE’S the basketballer who made a big splash in world sailing. And Liesl Tesch continues to make waves off the water.

Liesl Tesch and Dan Fitzgibbons with their gold medals in Rio.

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SHE’S the Central Coast schoolteacher making waves on and off the water.

Paralympic star and former Australian basketball captain Liesl Tesch has continued to make her presence felt despite having her sport removed from the Games program in 2020.

Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch are two of Australia’s most successful sailors.

The two-time sailing gold medallist with skipper Dan Fitzgibbons has secured one of the most prestigious awards in Australian sailing.

“It’s not often I am speechless. In fact never until now,’’ Tesch said after Australian Sailing head honcho and Sydney to Hobart veteran Matt Allen awarded Tesch the President’s Award at a gala on the weekend.

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The award is given at the sole discretion of the sports president with Tesch, who claimed headlines when mugged in Rio prior to the Paralympics, the first female to claim the honour.

“She is simply incredible,’’ Allen said of the multiple Paralympian who gives generously of her time to the sport, fundraises for charity, founded the organisation Sport Matters and is at the forefront of the fight to have sailing reinstated back onto the Paralympic program for Games post Tokyo.

Lisa Darmanin won Female Sailor of the Year for her silver medal in Rio with Jason Waterhouse.

Teach and Fitzgibbons were the first Olympic or Paralympic crew to successfully defend a gold medal with their Skud 18 victories in London and Rio.

Tesch, an inductee in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month, had previously won three Games medals in wheelchair basketball.

Olympic gold medallist Tom Burton won the Male Sailor of the Year award.

Olympic silver medallist Lisa Darmanin, who finished second in the Nacra 17 class with skipper and cousin Jason Waterhouse, was named female Sailor of the Year.

Laser gold medallist Tom Burton was named Male sailor of the Year.

His coach Michael Blackburn was Coach of the Year, the entire Australian Paralympic Sailing Team was awarded the Sailor of the Year with a Disability award and world youth Laser champion Alistair Young was named Youth Sailor of the Year.

Originally published as Paralympian Liesl Tesch picks up Australian Sailing’s President’s Award