Three years ago, I lay in a silent world – in a medically induced coma, for a month. I actually passed away three times on the operating table. Yet here I am, and incredibly grateful to share my story today. I was badly burned during the 2011 Kimberley ultra-marathon; there was no way I could foretell the day that would change my life forever.
Turia Pitt was named Cosmopolitan’s ‘Woman of the Year’ for 2013, short-listed for this year’s ‘Young Australian of the Year’ and the winner of the recent NSW ‘Woman of the Year’ Awards. She is a burns survivor, motivational speaker, engineer and published author.
She has a double degree in Mining Engineering and Science and graduated with first class honours. She worked as a model before landing her dream job with Rio Tinto at their prestigious Argyle Diamond Mine and moving to Kununurra with her partner, Michael. Their lives were turned upside-down when she was trapped by a grassfire in a 100-kilometre ultra-marathon in September 2011, and suffered burns to over 65 per cent of her body.
She completed the Variety Cycle from Sydney to Uluru, the 20 kilometer Lake Argyle Swim and a section of the Great Wall of China. She is a passionate ambassador for Interplast, a charity that provides free reconstructive surgery to people in developing countries. In 2014 she managed to raise almost $200,000 for this cause with a team of incredible women. In 2015, she will lead another group to the Inca Trail