Lex Leary set to make a song and dance about it

This week’s stand-alone World Series event marks the first time para swimmers in Australia will headline their own dedicated international meet.

It also doubles as the final opportunity for Australian athletes to post qualifying times for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, with the window closing on February 26.

For world champion Alexa Leary, selection remains firmly front of mind and she admitted today she is already dreaming of Scotland.

“I am excited about going to Scotland, I hope I hear some bagpipes,” she said.

Off the blocks, 2026 is shaping as one of the biggest years of her career.

Leary recently shifted her training base to Miami on the Gold Coast, completing eight pool sessions and three gym sessions each week as part of the high-performance Rackley squad. She trains alongside Olympians including Max Giuliani in the new 50m pool facility as she builds towards Glasgow, the LA Paralympics and potentially beyond.

Her coach Jon Bell said the move had been transformative.

“This environment, the structure and connection, will help Lex perform at her best,” he said.

“There is no doubt she is a generational athlete — and the best is ahead of us.

“We really haven’t seen the best of Lex … but we will. The environment at Miami, the structure and connection will help Lex perform at her best. She has wonderful support from her parents, from strength and conditioning, through to physio etc.

“Lex feels part of the process at Miami, which is really important … and she can definitely swim on to 2032.”

Outside the water, Leary has also been kicking goals in both her fitness and creative endeavours.

After completing the New York Marathon with her father last year — a challenge she insists she will not be repeating — Leary is preparing to release her second song, promising a sound “not as much doof doof” as her 2025 debut.

She also has a book, Sink or Swim, due out in April.

Looking back on everything she has achieved since a devastating cycling accident in 2021 left her with life-changing brain injuries, Leary said that when asked about her proudest achievement, it is not a medal but the comeback itself.

“Can I say how far I have come with my brain injury?,” she said.

“But I really loved dancing on the podium in Paris. Rocking out to Kylie Minogue — I hope I get to meet her this year.”