Australia Olympic gold medalist Madison Wilson hospitalized with COVID as ‘precaution’

Swimmer Madison Wilson, winner of an Olympic gold medal for Australia this year, has been hospitalized with COVID-19.

The vaccinated 27-year-old announced on Instagram that she had been “moved into hospital for further care and observation” after falling ill, adding that she has underlying conditions that probably enabled a breakthrough infection.

Australia's Madison Wilson competes in the final of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on July 29, 2021. (ATTILA KISBENEDEK/)

The diagnosis forced her out of the International Swim League competition in Naples, Italy, The Associated Press reported.

“I am extremely disappointed and upset not to be racing alongside my teammates in match 8 here in the ISL,” Wilson wrote on Instagram. “I recently tested positive for COVID and yesterday was moved into hospital for further care and observation. Even though I am double vaccinated and took the right precaution set in place through the ISL, I have managed to fall to this virus. It’s been a crazy few months, and I believe being rundown physically and mentally may have made me more susceptible.”

(L-R) Bronze medalists Ariarne Titmus, Emma McKeon, Madison Wilson and Leah Neale of Team Australia pose with the bronze medal for the Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Tom Pennington/)

Wilson was part of a powerhouse Australian women’s team that competed at the Tokyo Games. She won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle and picked up a bronze in the 4x200 free relay.

“I feel extremely unlucky, but I do believe this is a huge wakeup call,” Wilson wrote in the post, which also included a photo of her in a hospital bed and a video from her ISL teammates. “COVID is a serious thing, and when it comes, it hits very hard. I’d be stupid not to say I wasn’t scared. I’m so lucky for all my family, friends and support people. I can’t believe how much love I have been shown and I’m forever in debt to these people. I’m taking some time to rest, and I’m sure I’ll be ready to bounce back in no time.”

Wilson credited her vaccine with keeping the worst of the illness at bay, considering she has “underlying chest and lung issues,” she wrote in subsequent stories, according to Yahoo! Sports.

“Mostly I just wanted to jump on and continue to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Wilson wrote. “I did end up in hospital, but that is as a precautionary because I do have underlying chest and lung issues.”

The vaccine “protected the people around me who I’ve been close to over this last period of time, and I am so grateful for that because I would not want anyone else in this situation,” she wrote, according to Yahoo! Sports. “I truly believe it reduced what happened to me and what could happen to me.”