Mel Leckie

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Melissa Katherine Leckie (7 February 1984 – 4 November 2022) was an Australian Paralympic cyclist who competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in two hand-cycling events.

Born in Adelaide, Leckie faced bullying at school for being shorter. In 2001, she became paraplegic after a suicide attempt and spent more than a year in Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre while her family waited for help to upgrade their home. She earned a Bachelor of Education (Junior Primary and Primary) from the University of South Australia and became a disability services and anti-bullying advocate.

Leckie spoke out about disability issues, including interrupting a speech by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2012 to note that disability pensions were only 57% of the national minimum wage. She also raised concerns about the lack of disability parking in Adelaide.

As a child, she was a talented gymnast and diver. In 2002, soon after becoming paraplegic, she raced in Adelaide’s City-Bay Fun Run against Louise Sauvage. She took up hand-cycling in 2006, even busking in Rundle Mall to buy a hand-cycle. Her first race was the Wild West Handcycling Tour in Perth in March 2007, and later that year she won two silver medals at a world championship in France. She was an Australian Paralympic Committee Talent Search athlete and held a South Australian Sports Institute scholarship.