Three years after surviving a horrific biking incident, Australian Paralympic swimmer Alexa Leary claimed her second gold medal in a world record time in Paris on Wednesday.
Leary’s swim of 59.53 seconds in the 100m freestyle final broke her world record in the heats of the S9 category, which includes swimmers with severe weakness in one leg.
The bubbly 23-year-old from the Sunshine Coast was in a coma in hospital in 2021 after sustaining permanent brain and leg injuries in a high-speed bike crash that left her with a punctured lung and multiple broken bones.
Photo: AFP
Her parents, warned several times by doctors that their daughter might not survive, turned to a clairvoyant.
“When I was in ICU [intensive care unit], my dad got a fortune teller and the fortune teller read that I wanted to go to the Paralympics. And I’m here. Oh my God. I did it.”
Leary’s positive attitude and triumph over adversity has inspired Australia, giving her a profile to rival the country’s able-bodied Olympic champion swimmers, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown.
Her parents, Russell and Belinda, watched in pride from the stands at La Defense Arena as their daughter claimed her second gold of the Games, having also won the mixed medley relay.
“I wouldn’t be here without my mum and dad,” Leary said.
“When I was in the brain section, my dad stopped working, and my mum stopped. They were in the hospital with me for six months,” she said.
“Dad was constantly at his knees in that hospital every single day next to my bed,” she added.
“Dad will be having lots of tissues in his eyes, wiping his little tears. He doesn’t stop crying,” she said.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
The Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday acquired Taiwanese-American outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations to fill the roster after All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe was placed back on the injured list. Fairchild was designated for assignment by the Braves on Monday after hitting .216/.273/.333 in 28 games for Atlanta, with most of his work coming as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He joins Tampa Bay as a versatile fourth outfielder option. To make room for Fairchild on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred relief pitcher Manuel Rodriguez (forearm strain) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day
Ukrainian coal miner Andrii’s face lit up when he talked about meeting Oleksandr Usyk. “Wow,” the 36-year-old said in English. Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans were on hand when Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. It was a rematch of their 2023 bout that Andrii viewed under vastly different circumstances. “I watched this fight on the front line on my phone,” he said through an interpreter during a stop on Friday at the Ukrainian Embassy in London. “We were watching very quietly, but when he won there was loud
PENALTY MISS: ‘We practiced penalties,’ Spain coach Montse Tome said, while both her team’s spot-kicks were saved by Switzerland’s goalkeeper Livia Peng Spain ended Switzerland’s dreamy midsummer run through its home Women’s European Championship in a 2-0 win in the quarter-finals on Friday despite missing two penalty kicks. Swiss resistance was broken by the world champion’s two goals in a five-minute spell midway through the second half. Athenea Del Castillo slotted in a shot from Aitana Bonmati’s flicked assist in the 66th, just four minutes after coming off the bench, and Claudia Pina curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 71st. Spain are to play France or Germany in the semi-finals in Zurich on Wednesday. The winner would face defending
RSS