Fitzgibbon and Tesch sail into history books

NSWIS pair Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch have become the first ever sailing team in history to win back-to-back Paralympic titles after the SKUD18 class (2-person kneelboat) regatta wrapped up at Rio’s Marina de Gloria.

The dynamic duo may have finished second in the regatta’s final race but that result didn’t matter a bit to their overall position, the Australian pair having sown up the gold medal with two of the 11 races to spare.

Incredibly, Fitzgibbon and Tesch won eight of their 11 races and finished second in the other two for a total of 12 points, a whopping 22-clear of the Canadian crew with Great Britain third a further two points back.

Now with sailing not on the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic program, Fitzgibbon and Tesch have both called time on their stellar Paralympic careers.

Fitzgibbon told News Limited the successful defence of his and Tesch’s London title was a career highlight.

“To race on that racecourse, widely known as the most difficult one in the world, to have a scorecard that we got, and to be retiring at the end of it, that’s a fairytale for us,” Fitzgibbon said.

“I can just hang my boots up and be very proud.”