He missed selection for Rio in 2016 by a similar margin.<\/p>\n
Unknown to most, Wilson's grandmother had died just days before his swim. In announcing his selection, Swimming Australia confirmed it used its discretionary powers to include him in the 35-strong squad.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around it quite honestly," Wilson told Amazon Prime Video. "Just 24 hours ago I didn't think I was going to be on this Olympic team. <\/p>\n
"I was getting ready to plan my break. It's funny, sport. It's been such a roller-coaster 24 hours. I'm just stoked to be here and hopefully I can repay the faith for Tokyo."<\/p>\n
Wilson choked back tears when asked about his grandmother.<\/p>\n
"The last couple of weeks have been really tough and I'm glad I could make the team for her (grandmother). I'm sure she'd be proud of me."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Swimming Australia head coach Rohan Taylor said they weren't aware of Wilson's grief until after his swim.<\/p>\n
"We got informed (on Wednesday) that there were some extenuating circumstances we needed to look into," he said.<\/p>\n
"We had a discussion as a selection panel last night. We determined based on the fact we have a former world record holder, won a worlds silver medal not that long ago, we wanted to give him the opportunity to add value to the team," he said.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere Cate Campbell and Emily Seebohm were named<\/a> to compete at their fourth Olympic Games, joining Leisel Jones as the only Australian swimmers to achieve the feat.<\/p>\n Popstar turned swimmer Cody Simpson missed selection<\/a>, but finished a credible eighth in the 100m butterfly, setting him up for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"