Madi Wilson grew up in rural Queensland. Her grandparents owned a swimming centre so it was only fitting that she began swimming.

Growing up, she also played soccer and netball, however she managed to break her arm on three separate occasions playing netball and so turned away from the sport.

Madi specialises mainly in the sprint events and made her first big appearances in 2012 when she qualified for the Junior Pan Pacs in the 100m backstroke.  Then, she made her Olympic debut in Rio after qualifying in the 100m backstroke with a standout performance at the 2016 Nationals where she finished second behind 2015 World Champion Emily Seebohm.

Madi made a stunning start to her first Olympic campaign by finishing second in her 100m backstroke heat, before winning her semi-final. She went on to finish eighth in her first Olympic final. The Queenslander swam in both the heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay and in the 4x100m medley relay. Australia went on to win gold in the freestyle relay and silver in the medley relay.

In 2019, Madi competed at the World Championships held in Gwangju where she was a member of the gold medal winning women's 4x200m freestyle relay, setting a new world record in the process.

At the 2021 Olympic trials, Madi qualified a spot on her second Olympic team where she went on to win a Gold as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team as well as a bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay team.