Vicki Roycroft, a three-time Olympian, is under intensive care at Sydney’s Royal Price Alfred Hospital following what doctors believe to be a heart attack.
The 69-year-old equestrian is believed to have passed out immediately before the show jumping competition on Saturday afternoon at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Vicki Roycroft has a significant rip in her aorta and is undergoing an eight-hour surgery, according to a Facebook post by Roycroft’s sister Joanne.
According to Joanne, the 69-year-old was not breathing for about ten minutes during the medical incident, and she predicts it will take another three to four days for experts to fully assess the harm done.
The Olympian’s family claims that the doctors are astounded by her level of fitness, but they are pleading with the public to pray for her recovery.
The incident, for which Roycroft was brought to Concord Hospital before being moved to RPA, was verified by a representative for the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
According to a spokeswoman, “the on-site St. John Ambulance team attended to her immediately, with treatment also provided by NSW Ambulance paramedics,” the Sydney Morning Herald said.
Vicki and her loved ones are in the thoughts of the entire Royal Agricultural Society of NSW and the horse community at the show right now.
The Australian equestrian, who was born in Sydney, participated in three Olympic Games: Atlanta in 1996, Seoul in 1988, and Los Angeles in 1984.
In 2000, Roycroft was one of the inaugural recipients of the Australian Sports Medal, given out by the Governor-General in honor of accomplishments in Australian sport.
The equestrian spent 24 years married to fellow three-time Olympian Wayne Roycroft; they wed in 1976 and divorced in 2000.
At the age of 17, their son Mark sadly perished in a rip-off off Birdie Beach on the NSW Central Coast in January 2003.
