Charlie Webster, TV Presenter Covering Olympics In Rio, Battling Malaria In Induced Coma

Charlie Webster, a British TV presenter, has contracted a rare form of Malaria while covering the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She has reportedly been placed in an induced come to fight the illness.

Charlie Webster Battling Malaria In Rio

Webster, 33, is currently in a coma at a Rio de Janeiro hospital after becoming unwell earlier this month upon attending the Opening Ceremonies. “What was initially thought as dehydration, caused by her riding to Rio, has since been diagnosed a a severe complication caused by a bacterial infection,” read a note on the media personality’s Twitter page on Aug. 11.

Since that post, things seem to have taken a turn for the worst for Webster. “Charlie is battling for survival at the moment – everyone is distraught,” a friend of Webster’s told The Sun. “But she is so strong and a very fit and healthy person in general so we have to keep positive.”

Webster’s mother, brother and manager have all flown to Rio from the UK to be at Webster’s bedside as she continues to fight the illness.

Webster had participated in the Ride to Rio charity challenge, biking 3,000 miles before arriving in Brazil on Aug. 4. A former Sky Sports star, she was in Rio with Nick Grimshaw and Gethin Jones as an official presenter for Team Great Britain.