Alexa Leary (born 18 August 2001) is an Australian

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

. She won a gold medal and silver medal at the

2023 World Para Swimming Championships The 2023 World Para Swimming Championships was the 12th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for swimmers with disabilities. It was held in Manchester, Great Britain from 31 July to 6 August 202 ...

. She has been selected to compete at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Personal life

Leary was born on 18 August 2001. Her parents are Russ and Belinda Leary. She has two sisters, Madison and Ashtyn, and two brothers Max and Jack. She grew up on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and later Yamba and

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

, where her triathlon coach was based. She attended Good Shepherd Lutheran College. On 17 July 2021, Leary suffered life-changing brain injuries as a result of a serious cycling accident in Pomona, Queensland. Whilst riding her bike in training for triathlons, her front wheel clipped the bike ahead at 70 km/h. She landed on her head which resulted in major brain damage, blood clots and several broken bones. She spent 111 days in hospital. Whilst in hospital, a fund raising campaign called 'moveforlex' raised over $130,000 for enhanced care at the

Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Metro North Health, part of the Queensland Health network. The hospital has 929 bed ...

Neurosurgery Ward with a focus on equipment and family support.

Triathlon career

Leary won the silver medal at in the Women's Under 18–19 at World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne, Switzerland before her training accident.

Swimming career

Her triathlon training incorporated swimming. After her training accident, she was classified as an S9 swimmer. At the

, Manchester, she won a gold medal in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S9 just outside the world record and a silver medal in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9. She is coached by Jon Bell at St Hilda's on the Gold Coast. She has a been selected to compete at the

Recognition

*2023 -

Swimming Australia Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators ...

2023 Awards -

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) Discovery of the Year. *2023 - Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards - Emerging Athlete of the Year

References

External links

Swimming Australia BiographyParalympics Australia Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leary, Alexa Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics 2001 births Living people Swimmers from the Gold Coast Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female triathletes S9-classified para swimmers Sportswomen from Queensland