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FOUR-time Olympic champion Dawn Fraser is recovering in hospital after breaking four ribs and fracturing her hip.
The Aussie champion swimmer’s family have spoken of their fear of losing the 87-year-old after she fell in her driveway in Queensland.
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Fraser was admitted to hospital in the Sunshine coast last Wednesday and underwent emergency surgery for a hip replacement the next day.
She had been recovering from eye surgery and tripped on the edge of a newly renovated driveway and landed hard on the ground, gashing her arm in the process.
Fraser’s daughter, Dawn-Lorraine, told media on Wednesday that her mum was doing “so much better” but was “not out of the woods yet”.
She said: “It’s been scary. I thought we were going to lose her and I was told by the doctor that we were probably going to have to face that, and I couldn’t face that.
“Because even though she’s my mum I’ve always thought of her as being invincible.
“She is typical mum. She is up walking and as you know she was told to slow down, because she was walking too far and too fast.”
Dawn-Lorraine said she received a phone call from the hospital on the day of the surgery to ask whether she wanted doctors to try to resuscitate her mother should the procedure not go to plan.
She added: “I said, are you serious? Are you asking me this question? Do you not know my mother?
“That’s the worst question someone could ask you when you’re not ready for it, and I said, ‘Yes, you will resuscitate her, my mother’s a fighter and you will make sure that you do everything to save her’.”
Fraser is recognised as one of Australia’s greatest athletes, having won eight Olympic medals, including four golds in the 100m freestyle, across three Games between 1956 and 1964.
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In 1956 she was the face of the Melbourne Games, winning the first of her golds in the 100m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle.
She also broke 27 world records during her career.
Fraser was named Australian of the year in 1964 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985, becoming first female to achieve ‘legend’ status eight years later.
Just three weeks ago, she made a rare public appearance at a Hall of Fame Gala Dinner at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium.
She also attended the Paris Olympics in July, where she cheered on her goddaughter Lani Pallister, who was part of Australia’s women’s 4 X 200m relay team who won gold in the pool.
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Fraser was overcome with tears of joy in the stands for Pallister, who was forced to withdraw from the earlier 1500m freestyle heats after testing positive for Covid.
Pallister sent a heartfelt message after Fraser’s fall, writing: “Hearing about her fall has been both stressful and frightening, given the relationship we share.
“We are relieved to hear that she is doing well and is receiving the care she needs from her family and the hospital staff.”
Fraser was also crowned World Athlete of the Century at the World Sports Awards in 1999.
In 2018, she was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her outstanding services to sport through ambassadorial, mentoring, and non-executive roles with a range of organisations at all levels.
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