Australian Olympic medalists Madi Wilson and Bronte Barratt were both hospitalized today, missing their team’s charter flight out of Rio this afternoon. Wilson was hospitalized for abdominal pains, and Barratt for pneumonia.
Barratt contracted pneumonia last night at the Olympic Closing Ceremonies, which took place in wet and windy conditions. Her condition was still being assessed this afternoon.
Wilson was experienced abdominal pains and feared that she had appendicitis, but she has been cleared and, according to The Sydney Morning Herald was planning to fly back on a second charter flight.
The Sydney Morning Herald is also reporting that Wilson has changed her plan to compete in the FINA World Cup meets this month (Paris-Chartres is the first, starting this weekend), and will instead return directly to Australia.
Earlier today, it wasn’t apparent whether Barratt would make the second flight.
A Swimming Australia staff member apiece has stayed back with both swimmers.
At this month’s Olympic Games, Wilson was a gold medalist in the women’s 4 x 100 free relay and a silver medalist in the women’s 4 x 100 medley relay, while Barratt was a finalist swimmer in Australia’s silver-medal 4×200 free relay.
I hope that they will recover quickly and be able to get home ASAP.
Wilson was not in the finals of either relay events
Prelims relay swimmers get the medals too. In fact, there’s separate little medal ceremonies for them.
Quick, Rio put up another article about Lochte to take the focus off of this
When was Lochte not free?
More like, quick Rio. Take their passports and fine them a large sum of money for saying they got sick in Rio.