Paralympic champion Alexa Leary has shattered another record, breaking the S9 100m freestyle world mark at the Australian Open Swimming Championships in Brisbane on Tuesday, clinching multi-class gold in the process.
Leary clocked a blistering 59.22 in the morning heats, surpassing her previous world record of 59.53, set in Paris last year. Although she wasn’t able to better that time in the evening final, finishing just 0.10 seconds slower, it was still enough to secure the gold medal.
“I felt so good,” Leary said after her race. “I’ve put in so much hard work since the Paris Games and was determined to bring something home. I was really confident for this one.”
The 23-year-old needed a moment to believe she had actually broken her own record after the morning swim. “Did I just beat my record? Did I actually? Yes!” she laughed.
While Leary had aimed to repeat her feat of breaking the record twice in one day — as she famously did at the Paris La Défense Arena — she narrowly missed out in the final. Nonetheless, the performance leaves her well-positioned ahead of the World Championships in Singapore and the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Leary became a fan favourite in Australian swimming after an emotional qualification for the Paris Paralympics. The former triathlete endured a life-threatening cycling accident in 2021, leaving her hospitalised for six months after suffering serious injuries, including a punctured lung and multiple fractures, with surgeons having to remove part of her skull.
Now a global force in para swimming, Leary remains fiercely driven. “Every day I challenge myself in the pool. Nationals was a big goal, and I was determined to get it done. It’s my event — I wasn’t leaving anything in the tank,” she said.
In the men’s multi-class 100m freestyle final, three-time Paralympian Rowan Crothers (S10) continued his reign, claiming the national title for the seventh consecutive year, fending off strong competition from Nicholas Layton (S15).
