This article was originally featured in frankie issue 117. Alexa Leary is currently competing in the 2024 Paralympics, so wish her luck by popping by her Instagram this-a-way! 

Alexa Leary was training for a triathlon when she fell from her bike in July 2021. Travelling at about 70km/h, Lex hit her head and suffered a brain injury that doctors weren’t convinced she’d survive. Just two years later, Lex had not only relearnt to walk and talk (and dance – one of her favourite pastimes) – she’d also qualified to compete in the World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, England. Then, in August 2023, she won gold.

“I was amazed at myself. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, Lex, look what you just did,’” the 22-year-old athlete says of the moment she realised she’d won. “But I didn’t do it alone.”

Lex shares her success with her coach Jon Bell, whom she met in early 2022. During her intense recovery from the accident, Lex moved from Noosa to the Gold Coast to train with him. “I was told to be in Noosa for a long time to do recovery – trying to rework my brain, learn how to talk to people properly, and stuff like that,” she says. “I just wanted more than that… So, I made the move and I did it.”

Lex was a dedicated triathlete before her accident, but now she’s fully focused on swimming. “I did the triathlon because I was so obsessed with doing more than one sport – I have ADHD – but my best leg was the swim. And since being a little girl I’ve always loved it,” she says.

In the lead-up to the event in Manchester, Lex trained nine times a week. “It was pretty hard. But I am that person who, when I want it, I’m gonna get it.”

Same goes for her recovery journey. After the accident, part of Lex’s skull needed to be surgically removed, and doctors told Lex’s family that she might not survive. But her sheer determination had her hitting milestones within months. “Lex has always been incredibly strong-willed,” her mother Belinda says. “Nothing was gonna get in her way or stop her. She walked before they thought she’d even walk again.”

The progress hasn’t been easy, though – Lex has had to relearn how to do everything in her life – and there’s still a long way to go. “It’s about a five-to-eight-year recovery if you’re lucky to recover fully, which most people probably don’t, but her memory is her biggest thing, and frustration and feeling lost,” Belinda says. “She’s not the same person she was, so she feels a little lost sometimes and very uncertain about her life and where she’s heading. But because she’s got the focus of swimming, it’s really helped to give her a challenge.”

“I also have a behaviour coach, because I destroyed my emotions and my behaviour in the accident,” Lex adds. “I could be having a day where my brain’s a bit frazzled and it hurts. That means that I will start talking and then all of a sudden, I’ll start bawling my eyes out for no reason… It’s a constant different emotion every single day. I can’t control it, and it’s upsetting, but I go, ‘Lex, you're working hard to improve it.’”

Since the accident, Lex has struggled with the loss of friends who couldn’t understand or accept how the brain injury has impacted her behaviour. “No one actually wants me to sit and explain things, like when I insult people or things like that. It’s not like I mean to,” she says. “She just has no filter,” Belinda adds. “Lex will say things that we all would love to say. But we know how to act.”

Recovery is exhausting for Lex and, because she has ADHD, she struggles to relax. She does still make time to enjoy herself, though. Dancing, learning how to DJ and shopping are some of her favourite ways to spend time – especially since her brain injury has spiked her creativity levels beyond what they were previously.

On top of achieving her goals, Lex has been inspiring people all around Australia to move their bodies. It all started with the @moveforlex Instagram account, which was created by family members as a way of keeping each other updated, and quickly grew among the community. “All of a sudden, it kind of blew up, and a lot of gyms got involved with it,” Belinda says. “Once everybody heard of Lexie’s story, it was a big thing to get out and move for those who can’t. And it was just everywhere.”

Through the wide reach of the Instagram account (it now has 117k followers), Lex and her family have raised money for the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where Lex stayed following her accident. “They were just lacking a lot of facilities and equipment,” Belinda says. “People were saying to us, ‘We’ll set up a GoFundMe page for you guys.’ And we were like, ‘No, we don't want your money.’ We thought that maybe if they do want to do that, they can donate to the hospital instead. So it just kind of took off that way.”

Now, Lex uses the Instagram account to encourage people to move with her, rather than for her. “She loves talking to inspire people that good things can come out of bad things,” Belinda says. Lex adds, “You only have one life, so you may as well live it to the fullest you possibly can. That’s how I see it.”

So what’s next for Lex? Well, as strong-willed as ever, she has her sights set on the 2024 Paris Paralympics. “My big, big goal is to make it,” she says. “Get classified and get a gold. And not even one. I want two, or even three. That’s what I want. And I’m gonna make sure I try my best to get it.”