Latest news with #DawnFraser
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why Olympic icon Dawn Fraser broke down in uncontrollable tears at Australian swimming trials
Olympic icon Dawn Fraser was highly emotional at the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide on Thursday night - and given the scintillating performance of her goddaughter Lani Pallister in the 800m freestyle final, she had every reason to be. In a touching moment, Fraser - who famously won gold in the 100m freestyle at three successive Summer Games between 1956 and 1964 - was seen poolside embracing Pallister after she created her own slice of sporting history. On the fourth day of competition, Pallister, 23, smashed Ariarne Titmus 's Australian women's 800m freestyle record which she set at last year's Paris Olympics. Pallister's slick time of 8:10.64 was also five seconds under her previous personal best - and the third-fastest swim of the year globally over the distance. American superstar Katie Ledecky (8:04.12) and Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh (8:05.07) are the two swimmers Pallister is chasing. 'I'm pretty happy with that time,' she said post race. It comes after Pallister earlier this year moved to the famed St Peters squad in Queensland under Titmus's coach, Dean Boxall. She was previously trained by her mother Janelle Elford. Meanwhile, Fraser, 87, recently revealed she lost 22kg following a fall on her driveway in December last year - and that she could have died following subsequent surgery. 'The pain was excruciating,' she told News Corp when reflecting on the incident at her Noosa home on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. '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.' And the cause of the fall? Fraser was trying to open a case of soft drink when she slipped on a small ledge and fell onto hard concrete. Fraser's hospital X-rays were grim - they revealed a broken hip, four cracked ribs and potential internal bleeding. Given her age, the anaesthetist warned 'Dawny' she may not survive the operation. 'When the anaesthetist came in and said I could die, that was frightening,' she said.
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Lani Pallister breaks the 800m freestyle record and gets a hug from Dawn Fraser
Lani Pallister has smashed Ariarne Titmus's Australian women's 800m freestyle record set at last year's Olympic Games. Pallister's time of 8:10.84 was more than a second faster than the old mark and five seconds under her previous personal best. It also ranks as the third-fastest swim of the year. "I'm pretty happy with that time," Pallister said, after sharing an emotional hug with godmother and Australian swimming champ Dawn Fraser poolside. "I would have liked just under eight-ten, but I think it's a big three years coming up, so to do that on eight weeks, 10 weeks of work with everyone at St Peters is huge." This year Pallister, who was previously coached by her mother Janelle Elford, moved to the St Peters squad in Queensland under Titmus's coach, Dean Boxall. "I didn't know what time I was going [during the race]," she said. "Usually, I have a little look to see if I could see the scoreboard or not, but all I could see was Dean doing these ones [mimicking fast kicking], kicking his legs on the last 50 and I was like OK 'it's either going to be real close to my best time or close to the time we spoke about'. So yeah, I'm really happy." Pallister said she was keen to get back to work to prepare for the World Championships in Singapore next month, but said the result doesn't change her goals. "It doesn't really change much, I think I'm using this year just to race, have fun," Pallister said. Multiple Olympic gold medallist Kaylee McKeown won her third title at the national swimming trials in Adelaide, taking out the 200m backstroke. "I'm not going to be harsh on myself, I am happy with that," McKeown said. "If I look back on my preparation for this year, I had four months, spent four months in a group where I wasn't finding myself really happy and made the decision a week before the national to move to Sunny [Sunshine] Coast. "I still haven't got a house to live in, I'm in Airbnb's and it has been really a hard transition. "It's just the things that people don't really see when you come in and race." Despite winning three out of three races at the nationals, McKeown has been either critical of her times, or lukewarm at best as she was on Thursday. Her time in the 200m was the fastest in the world this year, but she said it would count for nothing once the World Championships begin in Singapore next month. "No, it doesn't matter what you do here, it depends what you do on the day in an international meet," she said. "I could be doing world records here, get to an international meet and come last. "So, it really doesn't matter what I do here, what form I'm in, I've just got to get my mind right and see what I can do in a few weeks' time. Asked what was motivating her to go on, she said: "I want to go to a third Olympics." "I want to be on American soil and show them what the Aussies have," she said. Second place-getter Hannah Fredericks, who has made her first Australian team, said it was difficult to see the likes of McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan criticise their own times. "I idolised Kaylee for example, and Mol and it's always hard to see them be so hard on themselves," she said. She said McKeown congratulated her after the swim. "She just said like, 'I'm so, so happy for you'," Fredericks said. Rio gold medallist Kyle Chalmers won the men's 100m freestyle in a time that was faster than he swam to win the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He said his state of mind outside the pool was translating to fast times in it. "Now, I'm really happy and content," he said. "Like I've got a fantastic new coach, physiologists who are working with me every single day who believe in me 100 per cent, a fiancée who's incredible and I'm preparing to be a dad, living on a farm. "Like there's so many amazing things going on outside of the pool that I think it allows me to come here and have fun. "I'm not here with pressure and expectation, like anything I kind of achieve from this point on is just the icing on the cake in my career. "I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally in a great place and I think when all of those buckets are topped up, I can swim well in the pool." Reflecting on McKeown and O'Callaghan, who have both said during the meet that they're struggling to enjoy swimming, Chalmers said athletes had to find the right attitude to get the most out of their sport. "I mean, everyone's probably very different, like you've got to enjoy what you're doing," Chalmers said. "This is my 10th year on the Australian swimming team now and my 14th trials, like it goes so quickly. "It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was arriving here for, you know, London 2012 trials. "It goes so quickly, and I think it's just you've got to slow down and enjoy it." In other results, Brittany Castelluzzo made her first Australian team by winning the women's 200m butterfly final. Paralympic stars, Alexa Leary and Rohan Crothers both won their 100m freestyle events.
The Age
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Pallister's heartwarming moment with godmother Dawn
Lani Pallister shares a beautiful moment with her godmother, Australian swimming royalty Dawn Fraser, after breaking Ariarne Titmus' national 800m freestyle record.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Pallister's heartwarming moment with godmother Dawn
Lani Pallister shares a beautiful moment with her godmother, Australian swimming royalty Dawn Fraser, after breaking Ariarne Titmus' national 800m freestyle record.
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sport icon Dawn Fraser reveals the distressing amount of weight she's lost - and her chilling moment after horror fall: 'I didn't want to die that way'
Aussie sporting icon Dawn Fraser has revealed she lost 22kg following a fall on her driveway in December last year - and that she could have died following subsequent surgery. Fraser, 87, is a national treasure after winning Olympic gold in the 100m freestyle at three successive Summer Games, between 1956 and 1964. 'The pain was excruciating,' she told News Corp when reflecting on the serious fall at her Noosa home on Queensland 's Sunshine Coast in December last year. '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.' And the cause of the fall? Fraser was trying to open a case of soft drink when she slipped on a small ledge and fell onto hard concrete. Fraser's hospital X-rays were grim - they revealed a broken hip, four cracked ribs and potential internal bleeding. Given her age, the anaesthetist then warned 'Dawny' she may not survive the operation. 'When the anaesthetist came in and said I could die, that was the frightening part,' Fraser recalled. 'I didn't want to die that way, so that put my will up to come through and come out of it.' Thankfully, everything went according to plan - only for Fraser to then endure a heart scare weeks later. Now fitted with a pacemaker, Fraser's heart is monitored 24 hours a day. Acknowledging she has to slow down has been a battle. She was on anti-depressants, but an old friend - swimming - has helped keep Fraser mentally strong. Fraser also admitted the recent setbacks have resulted in one of the toughest periods of her life. 'This has been the biggest challenge, absolutely,' she said. 'It's not something I thought I'd (ever) have to face. 'But now it's there in front of me. Winning the gold medals was much easier. I feel so lucky I survived.' In terms of attending the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, it remains to be seen if Fraser will be poolside. She will be 95 - but you never write off a champion.
