100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

World record and a second gold medal for Leary at Paralympics

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Car found after grandmother’s mysterious death

The bizarre disappearance and death of a Queensland grandmother who was last seen on the Sunshine Coast has taken another turn. Police have located a More

Three-term MP re-endorsed as candidate for federal election

A Sunshine Coast MP who has held his seat since 2016 has been unanimously re-endorsed by the LNP as its candidate for the upcoming More

Tsunami test: key groups take part in disaster exercise

Emergency services and essential groups have taken part in a disaster exercise to see how prepared they are for a tsunami on the Sunshine More

Ashley Robinson: nursing a bruised ego

I have always banged on about passing people on my morning walk who haven’t got the energy to even nod ‘hello’. That kind of makes More

Photo of the day: calm waters

Helen Browne took this shot of the Mooloolah River at dawn. If you have a photo of the day offering, email photo@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. Photos must be horizontal/landscape More

Investigation into alleged copper cable theft produces arrest

A man has been charged over the alleged theft of copper wire in the Noosa hinterland and elsewhere in south-east Queensland. Detectives from Gympie Criminal More

High-octane house music has propelled rising Australian swim star Alexa Leary to a Paralympic gold medal and fulfilled a prophecy set out by a fortune teller three years ago.

After setting a 59.60 world record in the morning session heat at La Defense Arena in Paris, Leary went one better to claim gold in the 100m freestyle (S9) with a time of 59.53.

The gold was Leary’s first individual Paralympic medal and came after she almost single-handedly carried Australia’s 100m relay team to an emphatic first-place finish two days earlier.

The achievement marked another incredible milestone in the increasingly rich chapter of what the Noosa 23-year-old terms her “second life”.

Leary fell off her bike in a near-fatal accident at Pomona in 2021, leaving her with brain damage and several long-term injuries.

More than once, doctors informed her parents, Russ and Belinda, they should prepare to say goodbye to their daughter.

Searching for answers and hope, Leary’s parents turned to a clairvoyant who predicted that the swimmer would rise to become a Paralympic gold medallist.

“It is actually so amazing the fact that when I was in ICU, my dad got a fortune teller,” Leary explained.

“The fortune teller read that I wanted to go to the Paralympics, and now I’m here, I’m like ‘wow, I did it’.”

Jesse Aungles, Timothy Hodge, Emily Beecroft, Alexa Leary, Callum Simpson and Keira Stephens after winning gold at the Paralympics in Paris. Picture: AAP Image/Jeff Crow via Sport the Library/Paralympics Australia

Leary was beside herself with excitement as she revelled in clinching gold in a world record time.

And that feeling was only heightened when Network Nine showed her a congratulatory video from Australian music producer Fisher.

“He’s one amazing person and I’ve always got my headphones in, he upbeats me every single day. The best song he plays is World Hold On,” Leary said.

“It gets me going. It gets me in race mode every single time and I don’t know what it is about his music, but he gets me in this rhythm to just go smash it in the water.”

After belting out Advance Australia Fair on the podium, Leary celebrated her gold by dancing on the podium, performing the robot and staring down the barrel of the broadcast camera.

Her infectious personality and comeback story has quickly made her one of the most-endearing characters in Australian sport.

“I’m like, wow, I’m amazed at myself that I am, I’m like, ‘Yeah, Lex, I love that for you,’ it just makes me want to go even harder at the next Paralympics to see what else I’ve got,” Leary said.

There was nearly a second Australian medal in Leary’s race with Emily Beecroft just missing bronze in finishing fourth.

Like stories about Sunshine Coast people doing great things? Help us deliver more by registering for our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your email at the bottom of this article.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share