SAS Australia uncovers the untold stories of athlete struggles. From Olympic heartbreaks to NRL selection controversies, discover the truth.
On Wednesday’s episode of SAS Australia, viewers were given a stark reminder that fame and athletic prowess do not shield one from life’s adversities.
Stephanie Rice, an Olympic medallist, confronted both her physical and emotional pain. During a gripping task where recruits had to confront acrophobia by rappelling 50 metres from an aged tower and then entering through a window to complete a rescue mission, Rice met with a severe setback.
While diving into the sand, she suffered a shoulder dislocation. Immediate medical attention on-site managed to reset her shoulder, after which she was sent to a medical facility for a thorough examination via X-rays.
However, this physical pain paled in comparison to the emotional trauma she shared later.
“When I think about failure. I think about the London Olympics. Everything went wrong, I got injured. I tore the tendon in my shoulder eight months before the London Olympics.
I didn’t have time to repair it. I just trained on it torn for eight months. I was disappointed things didn’t align the way I knew they could have,“
Stephanie Rice recounted. Post her swimming career, she felt a gaping void, expressing,
“I really struggled. I felt really lost after I finished swimming. I didn’t feel like I had any purpose or any direction. And I didn’t feel like anybody understood.“
Meanwhile, Anthony “The Man” Mundine faced questioning after what the Directing Staff (DS) perceived as a subpar performance in the day’s task. But what he revealed was deeper than the task at hand. The heartbreak of being overlooked for The Kangaroo Tour came flooding out.
“I was an NRL player and NRL is a brutal sport. I debuted in 1993 when I was 18 years old. I was only a skinny kid. And I was carvin’ up, but I felt like I wasn’t getting the accolades. If I was a white fella …,”
he started. When prompted by DS Ant Middleton about the potential racial undertones of his non-selection, Mundine affirmed,
“One hundred per cent!“
He reminisced,
“1999 was one of my best years. At the end of that year, they were taking a tour to England… I was the best player in the league. No doubt.“
He further expressed his anguish over the given reason for his exclusion, saying,
“The Australian coach said I didn’t get picked because of my ‘off-field characteristics’. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, never took drugs in my life.
But I’m very outspoken. They just wanted to show me they were in power. You do what we say and then you’ll see some fruits.“
As Monday night promises more intense challenges, with recruits undergoing a ‘night beasting’ and facing one another in direct combat, the roster of star recruits stands as follows:
- Abbey Holmes, 32 – AFL Field Commentator
- Anthony Mundine, 47 – World Champion Boxer
- Dr Craig Challen, 57 – Thai Cave Rescue Hero
- Craig McLachlan, 57 – Actor
- Mahalia Murphy, 29 – International Rugby Star
- Matthew Mitcham, 35 – Olympic Gold Diver
- Peter Bol, 29 – Olympic Runner
- Stephanie Rice, 34 – Olympic Champion
- Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
- Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
