Dawn Fraser health update: Olympic swimming legend ‘still fighting’ and back in the pool after health issues

Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser has opened up about her recent health battles, including the moment she “could die”.

Fraser, an eight-time Olympic medallist, a world record holder for 15 years and a highly decorated Australian having received both a Companion of the Order of Australia and Member of the Order of the British Empire, has had a bad run with her health in recent months, including a fall that left her needing surgery and a heart issue.

“I’ve lost 22 kilos and a lot of strength,” Fraser told the Daily Telegraph.

Sharing new details on the fall she had in December 2024, Fraser revealed it was a simple everyday activity that brought her to the ground.

“I was opening a case of Coca-Cola. I slipped opening the plastic container. My foot got caught on the little ledge we’d just had made for the gate,” she said.

Fraser said after the fall, she “couldn’t get up” and was in a “lot of pain”, knowing she had suffered some serious injuries.

“The pain was excruciating,” she said.

“I’d never felt pain like that before. I’ve never sort of fallen or broken anything in my life and it was a shock to me.”

Fraser, who was home alone at the time while her family went shopping, had her mobile on her when she fell and was able to call a neighbour for help.

The swimming legend, once cheered on my thousands around a pool, was taken to hospital to be surrounded by health care professionals who told her she “could die”.

Fraser learnt that she had broken a hip, cracked ribs and was told she may have internal bleeding.

Doctors asked Fraser’s daughter, Dawn-Lorraine, if Fraser wanted medical professionals to conduct resuscitation if an urgent operation went wrong.

“I said, ‘This is Dawn Fraser. She’s not just any 87-year-old. She is tough.’ I know my mother, and I was quite upset about that,” Dawn Lorraine told the outlet.

Fraser said she fight the ordeal “frightening”, especially the idea that she may no-longer be around to spend years with her beloved family.

“When the anaesthetist came in and said I could die, that was the frightening part,” Fraser said.

“That I could die under anaesthetic. I didn’t want to die that way, so that put my will up to come through and come out of it. I wasn’t going to give in.”

Fraser, who said she understands her age, said “When I die, I want to be with my family.”

The swimming legend won her race with surgery and began making a steady recovery until another alarming incident in the following weeks.

When Fraser was visiting a surf club in Queensland, her heart began to fail.

“I started to feel very faint and I fainted and was unconscious for 5-7 seconds,” Fraser said.

“I didn’t understand what had gone wrong,” she says.

“They said my heart had stopped for five seconds and I had a very low heart rate, which I did have when I was swimming. But as I’ve gotten older, it’s got lower.”

Following an emergency trip to Noosa Hospital, Fraser was given a pacemaker, something she hopes will give her more precious time with her daughter, grandson Jackson and others.

“I’m slower, I’ve got to accept that,” Fraser said.

“I do a lot of running in the water for my knees and my back and my hip.”

However, it appears that Fraser’s first love may have been the best medicine, saying she if better now she is “back in the pool”.

“I’m good now that I’m back in the pool. I feel happy. I hope to get some of my strength back because I’ve lost a lot,” she said.