Australia’s Alexa Leary Sets New Paralympic Record in Paris

In a thrilling start to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Australia’s Alexa Leary made headlines by breaking the women’s 50m freestyle S9 world record during her heat. The 23-year-old swimmer from the Sunshine Coast clocked an impressive time of 27.69 seconds on Thursday night, demonstrating her incredible talent and determination.

Despite Leary’s record-breaking performance, the record stood for only a few minutes before being surpassed by American swimmer Christie Raleigh Crossley. Competing in the same classification, Raleigh Crossley finished her heat in 27.28 seconds, thereby not only breaking Leary’s new record but also claiming the world record in the 50m freestyle S9 event.

Due to the absence of the 50m freestyle S9 category in this year’s Games, both Leary and Raleigh Crossley, who share similar competitive classifications with acquired brain injuries, were racing in a higher classification. Leary will be joined in the upcoming finals by her Australian teammate Jasmine Greenwood, who secured her spot with a time of 28.23 seconds in the heats.

In addition to Leary’s remarkable swim, Australian swimmer Tom Gallagher also showcased impressive speed in the men’s 50m freestyle S10 event. Gallagher finished his heat in 23.33 seconds, falling just 0.17 seconds short of the world record, while leading the second-ranked swimmer by 0.44 seconds.

Gallagher will compete alongside his teammate Rowan Crothers, who advanced to the finals with a time of 23.88 seconds. Meanwhile, in the men’s 400m freestyle S9 event, Australians Tim Hodge and Brenden Hall both advanced to the final as the fastest swimmers, posting times of 4:19.31 and 4:19.49, respectively.

Leary, Greenwood, Gallagher, Crothers, Hodge, and Hall will each be vying for gold medals on Friday morning, marking an exciting day for Australian para-athletics at the Games.