Source : ABC NEWS
Paralympic champion Alexa Leary has done it again, breaking the S9 100m freestyle world record at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on Tuesday to claim the multi-class gold at the Australian Open Championships.
Both of Leary’s swims were faster than her previous world record that she set in Paris, the fastest coming in the morning’s heats with a sensational 59.22.
Leary had twice broken the world mark in a single day at the Paris La Défense Arena in last year’s Paralympics.
And although she could not go back-to-back again at the Australian Open Championships on Tuesday, swimming 0.10 seconds slower in the final than in the morning heats, it was still enough for her to claim gold.
“Ohh honestly I felt so good,” Leary said after the race.
“I was like, just so confident on this one.
“I know all the hard work I’ve been doing since the Paris Games and everything, I was like, come on! You got to bring something home!
Alexa Leary powered down the second 50. (Supplied: Swimming Australia/Delly Carr)
“I was really, really confident for this one.”
After her brilliant morning swim, the 23-year-old needed some convincing that she had, in fact, bettered her old mark of 59.53.
“I’m not hundred per cent sure, but I hope it was a good one,” ” Leary said in her own, indomitably effusive way on poolside.
“Was it? Did I just beat my record? Did I actually?
“Yes! That’s a good back-end speed as well.”
Alexa Leary could not believe she had broken the world record. (Supplied: Swimming Australia/Delly Carr)
Leary vowed to “do it again” in the evening’s final, just as she did in Paris.
But although she fell just short, it was still a mighty impressive swim and stands her in good stead for upcoming challenges at the World Championships in Singapore and Commonwealth Games in 2026.
Leary became the darling of Australian swimming when she qualified for the Paris Paralympics, melting hearts with her emotional reaction to qualifying at the Olympic Trials in Brisbane,
A budding triathlete, Leary spent six months in hospital after crashing her bike at 75kmh during a training ride on the Sunshine Coast in 2021.
Landing on her head, surgeons had to remove part of Leary’s skull to save her life, with the then-teenager breaking several bones and puncturing her lung in the crash.
But Leary has since become a global force in para swimming.
“Every day I challenge myself with the swimming,” Leary said.
“It is a massive thing. Every day I have a competition within myself and being here for nationals, I was very confident and determined to get it done.
“I really needed it. It’s my event. It’s my number one and I couldn’t leave anything in the tank.
“I was like, come on Lex.”
In the men’s multi-class 100m free, three-time Paralympian Rowan Crothers (S10) held off strong competition from Nicholas Layton (S15) to claim the Australian title for the seventh year in a row.
