Powerful moment Alexa Leary's dad Russ fights back tears after Aussie swimmer books Paralympics ticket at trials

Australian swimmer Alexa Leary has defied the odds after being told she may never walk or talk again to book her ticket to the Paralympics, leaving her parents in tears.

Leary, who is better know to her friends as Lex, was one of Australia's most promising up-and-coming triathletes, and represented the country at world titles, had a horrendous crash while training in July 2021.

She had clipped the bike in front of her while travelling at over 65km/hr down a hill, leaving her with a life-threatening brain injury, blood clots, a collapsed lung and numerous broken bones.

Her parents Russ and Belinda were advised to prepare their goodbyes, and even when their daughter pulled through, they were told she was unlikely to walk or speak again.

Leary, 22, now lives with a brain injury, but has made a remarkable comeback into the sport of swimming.

On Tuesday night, the S9 100m freestyle world champ won the 50m freestyle with a time of 27.89 - and qualified for Paris.

'I've actually come so far,' Leary told Nine.

'I'm so impressed I am even in the water. I'm like yeah Lex, like you've come so far.'

Leary's dad Russ fought back tears while watching on in the stands.

'It's unbelievable. To think that we had six months in hospital, never meant to walk or talk again, and she's off to the Paralympics,' an emotional Russ told Nine.

'We got a different daughter back,' said Leary's mum Belinda.

'I love her personality. She's funny, she's crazy, but most importantly she's fulfilling her dreams and what she wanted to do prior ... She always wanted to go to the Olympics. That was her thing, always.'

Earlier in the year, Leary told media that she is changing the relationship she has with herself.

'I'm excited for Paris. I'm actually looking forward to it and I'm like, "Come on Lex, let's do something good here. I'm going to do so well. I know I will",' she told Wide World of Sports.

'Every day I write an affirmation on the mirror and I look at it and I believe it and I think it through the day ... It's like, "You love yourself, Lex. Look who you are. You've got to learn to love yourself".

'So that's a big thing for me.'

Leary, who represented Australia at the world titles in Switzerland where she finished second in 2019, says she still has her bad days and that will be the case for the rest of her life.

'Some days are very hard for me because my brain's just not normal,' Alexa says.

'It's just not working as well as it used to work.

'I do struggle sometimes, but it's OK; I get through it.'