From Beating World Records To Recording World-Beating Tunes, Paralympian Lex Leary’s Journey Continues To Inspire

You might not immediately think that being a world-record breaking athlete and an emerging dance music superstar would go hand in hand, but Alexa ‘Lex’ Leary OAM is a special case. She wears many hats, owns several medals, and her new music fills the floors.

In 2024, the 23-year-old represented Australia at the Paris Paralympics to major success. Now, it’s 2025, and she isn’t slowing down. She is, in fact, branching out, pivoting from chlorine to beats with the release of her first ever single, Closer featuring Sydney-born London-based vocalist XIRA, out now via etcetc music.

Closer is indubitably catchy, boasting watertight production and head-nodding beat, making it perfectly suited for a strobe-heavy night at the club. And XIRA’s voice, with its wry, plucky attitude, adds charm and vitality to the track. “Can you feel me getting close?” she breathes. And it’s true – her and Leary’s cheeky energy is inescapable.

“This moment is so special to me – it’s the start of something I’ve dreamed about for so long,” she explained upon its release. “From loving dance music, to learning in the studio between training sessions.”

Though the personality she projects on Closer is bright and bubbly, Leary has been through unfathomable hardship to get to where she is today. On July 17th, 2021, the Paralympian-musician suffered a cycling accident which resulted in life-altering brain injuries. 

Told that she wouldn’t live, Leary spent 111 days in hospital, and beat all the odds. Breaking world records and crafting sick beats in the studio, Leary is ensuring that she is “not letting disability limit” her. 

Dance music, she says, has been a “huge” part of her recovery, explaining, “It's my soundtrack to happiness and keeps me pushing on. I have a lot of ideas in my head about dance music. So when I’m not training or doing OT, I’ve been creating music with the support of some new friends.”

Expanding on her transition from being an avid fan of music to someone who actively creates music, Leary says, “The journey has been incredible from start to finish. After my accident, I clung to music because it spoke to me when nothing else did.”

“It can be challenging to recall some of the feelings I had for music before and during my accident as I do struggle with memory loss,” she explains, “But the whole time I have felt a connection to music, and over time, it stopped being just a tool for healing during my recovery, and became something that I wanted to share with others. 

“It was definitely a vulnerable process to get to where I am today, and I’ve had to learn so many things along the way, but I have such amazing support around me, and a lot of determination that reminds me every day that healing and growth are always possible.”

Leary’s healing and growth were undeniably fostered by a love of music, with memories of music’s innate power accompanying her time in hospital.

“One of the amazing things that my family noticed after my accident was that I couldn’t walk or talk, but somehow I knew the lyrics to all of the songs that were sung during my recovery in the hospital,” she remembers. “I have videos of myself in hospital singing to Miley Cyrus’s The Climb and other songs from the early 2000s. 

“Even now, years later, I’ll sometimes hear an old song and think it’s brand new – falling in love with it all over again! My playlist has become a collection of old songs many people have forgotten, but to me they feel fresh and exciting. 

“Still, one of my all-time favourites is FISHER, and that’s a memory I’ll never lose!”

Leary is clearly multi-talented, a renaissance woman of sports – does she approach sports and music with a similar style of engagement, or are the two processes completely alien from each other? 

“I approach music and swimming in very different ways,” she says. “Music brings me joy through creativity – I love the process of shaping a song until it sounds exactly how I want it to. Not to mention, it’s lots of fun! 

“Swimming, on the other hand, is about competition and the drive to achieve amazing things I didn’t think that I would ever do again. I love a challenge, and proving that I can overcome obstacles others might consider impossible. That determination is what keeps me striving for greatness.”

Closer is perfectly suited to the dance floor. It’s a foot-tapping, torso-shaking number. But dancing, while often euphoric, is an activity that can feel very intimate and vulnerable for some people. 

But Lex Leary might just be the perfect person to ask for advice for someone who wishes to fully let go and immerse themselves in dancing, but doesn’t seem to be able to.

“Sometimes you have to let go of other people's opinion and not let them hold you back from doing what makes you happy,” she instructs. “Do what you love, embrace the freedom in it, and find happiness in the process! 

“For me, that’s dancing – I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember. It’s not only a passion, but also a great way to get out and move for those who can’t!”

Winning a gold medal – or breaking a world record – must be a feeling of pure ecstasy. In fact, Leary is one of the few people who can actually attest to that.

While she took home the Gold at Manchester's World Para Swimming Championships in 2023 for the 100m freestyle, at 2024's Paralympic Games in Paris, Leary took home Gold in both the mixed 4x100m medley relay and the 100m freestyle – setting a Paralympic record for the former and a breaking her own world record for the latter, only hours after setting the record in her initial heats. 

But the question remains; is the experience at all comparable with creating or producing music?

“I do not think anything could ever match the feeling of winning gold and representing my country – that’s an experience that’s truly incomparable,” she admits. “Very few people get the chance to compete at the games, let alone take home gold, so it meant everything to me. 

“Music, on the other hand, gives me an escape from the mental strain of training and burnout. It’s my happy place, a space to relax and unwind, and let my creativity flow. Having sport to challenge me and drive my focus, alongside music as a creative outlet, has been the perfect balance - and an essential part of my recovery journey.”

Leary describes creating Closer as “such a fun first experience,” and confirms that she has “so much more to give.”

Expanding on what fans can look forward to from her music future, she gushes, “I can’t wait to get back into the studio and create more songs for you all! If you stay tuned and you are lucky enough, you may even be able to catch a few sneak peaks of any upcoming music between now and then on my socials!”

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