‘My heart stopped’: Olympic legend Dawn Fraser’s chilling revelation

Australian sporting icon Dawn Fraser has revealedhow close she has come to death not just once but twice in the past year.

Australian sporting icon Dawn Fraser has revealed her heart stopped weeks after she had a serious fall last year as she detailed just how close she has come to death not just once but twice in the past six months.

Last December, the Olympic legend had a nasty fall at her Noosa home which landed her in the ICU.

The Australian Olympic swimming legend tripped on an unfinished driveway, breaking her ribs and a major hip bone.

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Fraser was then informed she needed a hip replacement but was chillingly told by doctors in no uncertain terms it was not a safe operation and she could die on the operating table.

So doctors asked if she would give consent to her daughter Dawn-Lorraine to make medical decisions.

“That was the frightening part, was the fact that I might die under anaesthetic and I didn’t want to die that way,” Fraser told 10 News presenter Sharyn Ghidella in an interview on Wednesday.

Weeks after the fall, Fraser again looked death in the face when she suffered a cardiac episode while at the local surf club and revealed her heart had even stopped for several seconds.

“Unfortunately, I started to feel very faint and I fainted,” she said.

“They said that my heart had stopped for five seconds and I had a very low heart rate.”

Dawn Fraser has opened up about her health battles. Image: Ch10

Dawn Fraser attend the Sport Australia Hall of Fame night at Crown Palladium. Picture: Brendan Beckett

 Fraser was subsequently fitted with a pacemaker and has since begun her long recovery which her daughter labelled “a nightmare”.

“It’s been a nightmare, she’s been a nightmare,” her daughter Dawn-Lorraine told 10 News.

Fraser’s recovery has been a difficult road. She has lost 22kg and has battled with depression.

But now almost six months old, Fraser says while he is still a “little bit fragile on her feet” she fights every day to get better.

“I can still shower myself and take myself to the bathroom, but I can’t make my own bed or open many doors,” she continued.

“It’s a fight every day, but at least I’m doing it. Some days I feel 87. Other days, I don’t … I lost a lot of strength and weight, but I’m fighting to get it back.”

Fraser is one of Australia’s greatest-ever Olympians winning two golds in the 100m freestyle and 4x100 free at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Fraser also won gold in the 100m freestyle at the 1960 Olympics and again at the 1964 Games.

In her illustrious swimming career, Fraser broke 27 world records and was the first female athlete to be handed a Legend status by the Australian Sport Hall of Fame in 1993.

Originally published as ‘My heart stopped’: Olympic legend Dawn Fraser’s chilling revelation