TV's Charlie Webster 'fighting for her life' in Rio after contracting rare strain of malaria

Webster has been diagnosed with a rare strain of malaria Credit: Charlie Webster/Twitter

TV sports presenter Charlie Webster is reportedly fighting for her life in a Brazilian hospital after contracting a rare strain of malaria on her way to cover the Olympics.

The 33-year-old is in a coma and on a life support in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's capital city, according to The Sun.

Webster cycled 3,000 miles from London's Olympic Stadium to Rio to raise funds for the Jane Tomlinson Foundation.

However, she became unwell on 6th August, the day after the Opening Ceremony of the Games.

Previously she tweeted pictures of herself from her hospital bed, but now her condition is said to have worsened.

Charlie Webster rode from London to Rio de Janeiro to raise money Credit: Charlie Webster/Twitter

Webster's mother, brother and manager have flown to Brazil.

A friend reportedly told The Sun: "Charlie is battling for survival at the moment – everyone is distraught.

“But she is so strong and a very fit and healthy person in general so we have to keep positive.

"The doctors have now identified the very rare malaria strain she has contracted so she is receiving the right treatment in Rio, with advice being provided by the London School of Tropical Medicine".

Charlie Webster is a well-known TV presenter Credit: PA

On 9th August, Webster tweeted that she'd had an "awful" few days suffering with an infection.

The most recent tweet, posted on 11th August, said her illness - originally thought to be dehydration caused by her cross-continent cycle - had been diagnosed as a "severe complication caused by a bacterial infection".

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are providing support to a British woman who is in hospital in Rio".