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3 months ago
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Swimming legend Dawn Fraser was beaming with pride after Australia won the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final in Paris - and now it can be revealed one of the triumphant stars is her goddaughter.
Lani Pallister, who was forced to withdraw from the earlier 1500m freestyle heats after testing positive for Covid, didn't even know if she would be passed fit to swim.
But thankfully the endurance specialist was cleared - and she seized her moment alongside Mollie O'Callaghan, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus to claim gold ahead of the US and China.
'I bawled my eyes out when I got Covid, I honestly thought I'd be out of that relay completely,' Pallister said post race.
'The medical staff at the AOC did an incredible job looking after me and all the other athletes on the Australian team that have Covid.
'To be here standing with the girls, I don't think I could ask for anything more from my Olympic experience.'
Fraser, who remarkably won gold in the 100m freestyle at three successive Olympics from 1956 to 1964, knows better than most what Pallister has endured as an athlete.
She was overcome with tears of joy in the stands, as the Aussie swim girls continue to dominate in the La Defense Arena.
Swimming legend Dawn Fraser (right) was beaming with pride after Australia won the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final in Paris - and now it can be revealed why the triumph carried extra meaning
Lani Pallister (right) who was forced to withdraw from the earlier 1500m freestyle heats after testing positive for Covid, didn't even know if she would be passed fit to swim in the relay - she is also Dawn Fraser's goddaughter
Australia's all-conquering quartet won gold ahead of the US and China in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the La Defense Arena (Pallister is pictured left)
Prior to contracting Covid, Pallister overcame an eating disorder and heart surgery to qualify for the Games.
She previously tried to nail down a spot on the Olympic team in 2021 for the Tokyo Games but was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia - a heart condition that causes an elevated or irregular heartbeat.
The Sydney based athlete was also battling a secret eating disorder.
At one stage, Pallister was living off just two meals a day and obsessively compared her physique to other swimmers.
The Olympic rookie is coached by mother Janelle, a Seoul 1988 Olympian and Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Pallister will next compete in the women’s 800m freestyle heats on Friday AEST.
English (US)