Para world champ joins Order of the Pho3nix

THE Pho3nix Foundation is proud to announce its support of para swimmer Alexa Leary for her Paris 2024 campaign through the Pho3nix Athlete Program.

Leary came back from a life-changing accident only two years ago to win gold and silver at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester and make a strong case for selection for the 2024 Paralympic Games.

Her gold in the 100-metre freestyle was only 0.04 seconds outside of the S9 para world record – and she is passionate and determined to do better.

Through the Pho3nix Athlete Program, Leary will receive funding that will go toward training, coaching, equipment, competition, and travel expenses to enable her to focus on making the Paralympics and performing at the highest level possible.

This was the goal she had set her sights on even as she lay in ICU with the traumatic brain injury sustained in a high-speed cycling crash that obliterated her short-term memory and left her with weakness on the right side.

The junior triathlon star, who finished second in the 18-19 year-old division of the 2019 World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne, was on the cusp of moving into longer-distance triathlon.

The girl who they said wouldn’t live, then speak or walk has worked hard to get back into sport.

Throughout her recovery journey and as she won numerous national titles and made the Australian para swimming team, she inspired fellow Australians with the “Move for Lex” campaigns to get moving and exercise.

“To be honest, I was meant to pass away a few times but I fought so hard to be here… I realised early on in my rehab that I would love to start competing again and now I am,” she said.

“I was telling myself, ‘Look how far you have come and look what you’re doing for someone that was told that you’re never going to walk or talk again’.”

In partnering with Pho3nix she will now be able to take this to the global stage, exemplifying the Foundation’s ethos: rising above circumstance to reach for their dreams and inspire the next generation.

Leary joins a roster of trailblazers charting their respective paths toward Paris 2024 as well as over 60 Olympic and Paralympic athletes supported through past Pho3nix Athlete Program editions for Tokyo 2020 and 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

About The Pho3nix Foundation

The Pho3nix Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on helping children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, stay healthy and active through sports and physical activity.

Pho3nix Foundation’s flagship programs under the Participation, Progression, Professional, and Purpose pathway create a complete ecosystem for development through sport and paying forward to the next generation.

• Pho3nix Kids inspires and motivates children to participate in physical activity;
• Pho3nix Future mentors promising young athletes in their long-term development toward successful sports careers;
• Pho3nix Junior Team assists junior athletes taking the next step toward professional sport;
• Pho3nix Athlete Program funds athletes aiming to qualify for an Olympic Games;
• Pho3nix Team supports the world’s best athletes reaching for their ultimate goals.

For more information, log on to www.pho3nixfoundation.com