Mel Leckie

Leckie was born on 7 February 1984.^[2] She was bullied at school as she was shorter than other classmates. On 12 June 2001, Leckie became a paraplegic after she returned to her old school and jumped from third floor in a suicide attempt.^[3] She spent over 12 months as an inpatient in the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre due to the lack of government support in upgrading her family home.^[4] She undertook a Bachelor of Education, Junior Primary and Primary at the University of South Australia.^[5]

Leckie was an advocate for disability services. In 2012, she interrupted a speech by Prime Minister Julia Gillard at disability services conference in Sydney.^[6] She highlighted that disability pension was only 57 per cent of national minimum wage.^[6] In 2012, Leckie raised the issue of the lack of disability parking in Adelaide when fighting parking fines.^[7]

As a child, Leckie was a talented gymnast and diver.^[3] In 2002, after becoming a paraplegic, she raced against Louise Sauvage in the Adelaide's City-Bay Fun Run.^[8]

Leckie took up hand-cycling in 2006 and busked in Adelaide's Rundle Mall to purchase a hand-cycle.^[9] In March 2007, she competed in her first race - Wild West Handcycling Tour in Perth. In 2007, she won two silver medals at a world championship event in France.^[8]

At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she competed in two hand-cycling events - finishing sixth in the Women's Road Individual Time Trial HC A-C and eighth in the Women's Road Individual Road Race HC A-C.^[10] Leckie was a category B hand cyclist and competed against more able Category C cyclists.

Leckie was an Australian Paralympic Committee Talent Search athlete and held a South Australian Sports Institute scholarship.^[2]