Liesl Dorothy Tesch AM (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician.

She competed in her national wheelchair basketball team at five paralympics, winning three medals, and was the first woman to play the sport professionally.

"[3] She grew up in Brisbane, New Zealand, and the Lake Macquarie suburb of Coal Point, and attended Toronto High School.

[8] Shortly after entering the New South Wales state team, she was invited to try out for and made the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team in 1990, making her national debut at that year's World Championships[8] and her Paralympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

[3] After seeing an SBS documentary about the journey, Beijing silver medallist Daniel Fitzgibbon contacted her in late 2010 and they formed a sailing partnership.

[14] They won a gold medal with a race to spare at the London 2012 Paralympic sailing competition held at Weymouth and Portland.

[5] At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Tesch teamed with Fitzgibbon to win the two-person SKUD 18 class.

[17] Tesch and Fitzgibbon won the bronze medal in the SKUD 18 class at the 2016 World Championships held in Medemblik, Netherlands.

[18] On 20 June 2016, Tesch was robbed of her bicycle at gunpoint while on a fitness ride with her physiotherapist in Rio de Janeiro, in preparation for that year's Paralympics.

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Gosford had been held by the Labor Party's Kathy Smith, who had resigned due to ill health.

[3][24] She lives with her partner, Mark, a boatbuilder and frequent competitor in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race; the couple met while preparing for the competition in 2009.

"[27] In November 2014, Tesch shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Daniel Fitzgibbon, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris, Russell Boaden and Matthew Bugg.

The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship.