KEY POINTS
- Rising Australian swim star Alexa Leary has gained gold and set a world file within the 100m freestyle.
- It was Leary’s first particular person Paralympic medal after she had carried Australia’s 100m relay staff to first place.
- After a near-fatal accident, she mentioned her dad and mom turned to a clairvoyant, who predicted her Paralympic rise.
Excessive-octane home 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 in the past.
After setting a 59.60 world file within the morning session warmth at La Défense Enviornment in Paris, Leary went one higher to say gold within the 100m freestyle (S9) with a time of 59.53.
The gold was Leary’s first particular person Paralympic medal and got here after she had single-handedly carried Australia’s 100m relay staff to an emphatic first-place end two days earlier.
The achievement marked one other unbelievable milestone within the more and more wealthy chapter of what the 23-year-old phrases her “second life”.
Leary fell off her bike in a near-fatal accident in 2021, leaving her with mind harm and a number of other long-term accidents.
Greater than as soon as, docs knowledgeable her dad and mom, Russ and Belinda, they need to put together to say goodbye to their daughter.
Looking for solutions and hope, Leary’s dad and mom turned to a clairvoyant who predicted that the swimmer would rise to change into a Paralympic gold medallist.
“It’s truly so wonderful the truth that after I was in ICU, my dad received a fortune teller,” Leary mentioned.
“The fortune teller learn that I wished to go to the Paralympics, and now I am right here, I am like ‘wow, I did it’.”
Leary was beside herself with pleasure as she revelled in clinching gold in a world-record time.
And that feeling was solely heightened when Community 9 confirmed her a congratulatory video from Australian music producer Fisher.
“He is one wonderful individual and I’ve at all times received my headphones in, he upbeats me each single day. The very best track he performs is World Maintain On,” Leary mentioned.
“It will get me going. It will get me in race mode each single time and I do not know, what it’s about his music, however he will get me on this rhythm to only go smash it within the water.”
After singing Advance Australia Honest on the rostrum, Leary celebrated her gold by dancing on the rostrum, performing the robotic and staring down the barrel of the published digital camera.
Her infectious character and comeback story has shortly made her probably the most endearing characters in Australian sport.
“I am like, wow, I am amazed at myself that I’m, I am like, ‘Yeah, Lex, I like that for you,’ it simply makes me need to go even more durable on the subsequent Paralympics to see what else I’ve received,” she mentioned.
There was practically a second Australian medal in Leary’s race, with Emily Beecroft lacking the bronze in ending fourth.
However there have been two bronze medals gained for Australia within the pool on Wednesday evening.
Twenty-year-old Ricky Betar led his 200m particular person medley (S14) by the primary 100m however trailed off to complete third.
That was in distinction to Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson, who surged into third spot late in his 50m breaststroke (SB2) to seize his second bronze of the Video games.
Patterson, 35, was adamant he wished to race till the 2032 Video games in Brisbane and catch his white whale.
“Except one thing else comes up like Mercedes provides me an (F1) contract, I will be there in 2032.
“I’ve received one objective left and that is the gold medal, who is aware of if I will ever get it however I will exit and die making an attempt.”
