Three years after surviving a horrific biking incident, Australian Paralympic swimmer Alexa Leary claimed her second gold medal in a world record time in Paris on Wednesday.
Leary’s swim of 59.53 seconds in the 100m freestyle final broke her world record in the heats of the S9 category, which includes swimmers with severe weakness in one leg.
The bubbly 23-year-old from the Sunshine Coast was in a coma in hospital in 2021 after sustaining permanent brain and leg injuries in a high-speed bike crash that left her with a punctured lung and multiple broken bones.
Photo: AFP
Her parents, warned several times by doctors that their daughter might not survive, turned to a clairvoyant.
“When I was in ICU [intensive care unit], my dad got a fortune teller and the fortune teller read that I wanted to go to the Paralympics. And I’m here. Oh my God. I did it.”
Leary’s positive attitude and triumph over adversity has inspired Australia, giving her a profile to rival the country’s able-bodied Olympic champion swimmers, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown.
Her parents, Russell and Belinda, watched in pride from the stands at La Defense Arena as their daughter claimed her second gold of the Games, having also won the mixed medley relay.
“I wouldn’t be here without my mum and dad,” Leary said.
“When I was in the brain section, my dad stopped working, and my mum stopped. They were in the hospital with me for six months,” she said.
“Dad was constantly at his knees in that hospital every single day next to my bed,” she added.
“Dad will be having lots of tissues in his eyes, wiping his little tears. He doesn’t stop crying,” she said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their