Paralympic Champion Alexa Leary Fights for TBI Awareness

When Alexa Leary wakes up some mornings, she doesn't know who she is.

The Paralympic champion writes notes to herself each night, detailing what she needs to do the next day. It's one of many strategies the 24-year-old uses to manage life after a traumatic brain injury wiped out four years of her memory.

July 17, 2021 marks what Leary calls her "second life." A cycling accident during triathlon training left the then-19-year-old unable to walk or talk. Her parents had to help piece together the life she could no longer remember.

"People just think, 'oh she fell off her bike,' that's it," Leary told ABC Sport Daily. "But it's like, no, I am living a full second life."

The hardest part wasn't relearning to walk or talk. It was accepting that the old version of herself was gone forever.

Now Leary experiences what she calls emotional insanity. She can cycle through sadness, happiness, anger, and depression in seconds. She works with a behavioral coach to manage the volatility and uses her nightly notes to get "on board" with each new day.

Which makes her Paris 2024 performance even more stunning. Leary won two gold medals and one silver, plus set a world record in the women's 100m freestyle. Because she experiences processing delays, it took a while for the victory to sink in.

"When I got out of the pool, everyone was like, you've won, and I just couldn't believe it," she said.

Doctors initially encouraged swimming as rehabilitation for the right side of her body, which was affected by damage to her left brain. But Leary wanted more than therapy.

"I'd had a massive accident, so I wanted to go out there and do something good for myself," she said. "When I want something, I want to fight for it."

That fighting spirit now fuels her campaign for a dedicated TBI awareness day. While March is brain injury awareness month, there's no specific day for traumatic brain injuries. In Australia, one in 45 people live with an acquired brain injury.

Why This Inspires

Leary chose to share her daily struggles publicly to help others facing similar challenges. She's met numerous people with TBI who say her journey inspires them, and she's determined to get them recognized.

"I will fight for it because I feel like we need to be known because we all struggle with TBI and it's really hard," she said.

Her accident damaged much of her brain but somehow heightened her love of music. While initially unable to speak, she "knew every word to every song." Music became so central that Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" soundtracked her Paris triumph.

"I literally had a little stage and I had to get up and sing, 'la la la,'" she laughed. "I was fully enjoying it and I didn't even care about the medal."

For now, Leary is locked into training for the Los Angeles Paralympics and possibly a home Games in Brisbane, proving every day that determination can turn devastating loss into golden opportunity.