Paralympic swim star Alexa Leary (St Hilda’s, Coach: Jon Bell) has won a stunning second gold medal, breaking her second individual world record in an unforgettable Day Seven at the Paris La Defense Arena this morning.
The 23-year-old Queenslander who suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in an horrific bike accident on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast three years ago, powered her way to her first individual gold in the 100m freestyle for S9s in a time of 59.53 (27.91) – 0.07 under her own world mark set in the morning preliminaries.
Leary’s victory coming two days after anchoring Australia to a spectacular gold in the 4x100m Mixed Medley relay (34pt) also in a new world record-breaking time to the Dolphins.
“It’s been a long, tough journey for me but it’s a miracle that I’m living…. that I’m walking and I’m talking…they were told I never would three years ago…and I’ve just come so far….” said a beaming Leary, dancing her way around La Defense Arena after receiving her gold medal.
It was one of three medals won by Australia in the pool with her fellow Queenslanders Ricky Betar (USC Spartans, Coach Harley Connolly) 200IM (SM14) and Grant “Scooter” Patterson (Cairns Central, Coach Herbie Howard) 50m breaststroke (SM2) adding to the bronze medal tally.
Queensland has now won the only two individual gold, all four silvers and eight of the nine bronze medals for Australia.
Meanwhile, two-time Rio and Tokyo Olympian Betar set an Oceania record and in a personal best time of 2:08.69 in his brave bronze medal performance in the men’s 200m individual medley SM14 final.
Before three-time Paralympian Patterson captured the second bronze of his Paris campaign – this time in the men’s 50m breaststroke SB2 final and following his first up bronze defence in the 150m IM.
Scooter, who has diastrophic dysplasia, a form of dwarfism, revealed prior to the Games that a camera session with a bio-mechanist, visiting with Olympic coach Michael Bohl and his squad in Cairns, had corrected his body positioning.
“A bronze medal at the Paralympics, I can’t complain. Sportsmanship, looking after one another is what sports all about and my favourite memory in Paris (so far) is the mixed relay and sharing the pool with three of my fave teammates," he said.
The 35-year-old then said the LA and Brisbane Games were also on his cards.
In the men’s 400m freestyle S8, rising Sunshine Coast swimmer Callum Simpson, in Year 11 at Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast, showing no fear, went out hard in the first 100m before finishing sixth (4:34.97) in one of closest finishes of the session.
While in the women’s 100m freestyle (S12) Jenna Jones (USC Spartans, Coach Harley Connolly) placed eighth with a time of 1:04.40 and in the women’s 200m individual medley SM14, triple Paralympian Paige Leonhardt (Shark Aquatic, Coach Ken Malcolm) completed her Paris program with an eighth-place finish in 2:35.33.
QUEENSLAND MEDALLISTS after Day 7
GOLD (3)
Tom Gallagher (S10) - 50m freestyle
Jesse Aungles, Tim Hodge, Emily Beecroft, Alex Leary, Keira Stephens, Callum Simpson (34pt) 4x100m Mixed Medley Relay
Alexa Leary (S9) – 100m freestyle 59.53 (WR)
SILVER (4)
Lakeisha Patterson (S9) - 400m freestyle
Rowan Crothers (S10) - 100m freestyle
Jack Ireland, Madeleine McTernan, Ruby Storm, Ben Hance - 4x100m Mixed Freestyle Relay (S14)
Jake Michel (S14) 100m breaststroke
BRONZE (8)
Brenden Hall (S9) 400m freestyle
Rowan Crothers (S10) 50m freestyle
Jack Ireland (S14) 200m freestyle
Grant “Scooter” Patterson (SM3): 150m IM
Tom Gallagher (S10) 100m freestyle
Rachael Watson (S3) 100m freestyle
Ricky Betar (SM14) 200IM
Grant “Scooter” Patterson (SB2) 50m breaststroke
Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
