#258 Alexa Leary — The Triathlete Who Almost Died, Learned to Walk Again & Then Won 2x Paralympic Gold - Good Humans with Cooper Chapman | Lyssna här

⚠️ Content Warning

This episode contains discussions about a near-fatal accident, traumatic brain injury and the challenges of recovery. Please take care of yourself first. If you're not in the right headspace, come back to this one when you're ready.

If you need support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (available 24/7) or visit lifeline.org.au

This week I sat down with Alexa Leary, and honestly this one gave me chills.

At 19 years old, Alexa was a champion triathlete heading downhill at 70km an hour when she clipped the wheel in front of her. She says she died that day. She wasn't expected to survive. She spent 111 days in hospital learning to walk and talk again, living with the impacts of a severe traumatic brain injury that changed the course of her life forever.

What followed is one of the most extraordinary second acts in Australian sporting history. After re-learning to walk and talk, Alexa jumped back in the pool and found a new purpose — and within two years was representing Australia at the World Para Swimming Championships. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics she won two gold medals and a silver, breaking the world record in the 100m freestyle. She then went on to repeat that same medal tally at the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore. She has since been awarded an OAM for her extraordinary achievements in sport.

We also get into the sides of Alexa that don't always make the headlines — her deep love for house music and Fisher, her journey into DJing and music, and what swimming really means to her beyond the medals. And we talk about her brand new memoir Sink or Swim, where she tells the full truth of her two lives for the very first time.

This is a conversation about resilience, identity and what it really means to rebuild yourself from zero. Alexa is joyful, honest and completely magnetic. This one will leave you fired up.

In this episode we cover:

The bike crash that should have killed her and how she survived
111 days in hospital learning to walk and talk again
Living with a traumatic brain injury and what that looks like every day
Finding swimming and making the Australian Paralympic team
Two gold medals and a silver at the 2024 Paris Paralympics
Breaking the world record in the 100m freestyle
Repeating the medal tally at the 2025 World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore
Her love for house music and Fisher and her journey into DJing
What swimming means to her beyond sport
Her new memoir Sink or Swim and why she wanted to tell her full story

Alexa's Book - Sink or Swim

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/sink-or-swim-9781761354601

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