In a heart-wrenching Monday night episode of SAS Australia, Olympic icon Stephanie Rice faced an unexpected exit.
In an unprecedented move, DS Ant Middleton honoured her tenacity by allowing her to leave with her #11 armband.
A teary-eyed Stephanie expressed her mixed emotions,
“I just felt like I could’ve kept going. Like, I don’t feel like I’ve learnt [enough] about myself. But being able to leave with my number feels special.
I’m really proud of that. I think the lesson for me is knowing that there will be more opportunities and be okay with this moment right here, right now.”
The recruits began their day divided into teams for a task involving survival equipment. Zima Anderson led Team Alpha, and Abbey Holmes took charge of Team Bravo. Their challenge took a twist as they were suddenly ambushed by the Jordanian Royal Air and Armed Forces.
While many struggled, Peter Bol, Matthew Mitcham, Tim Robards, and Dr Craig Challen emerged triumphant, successfully completing the task.
In a moving segment, the DS invited Peter Bol to the mirror room, hoping to delve deeper into his past. Peter narrated his journey, migrating to Australia via Egypt from a devastated Sudan.
Yet, the highlight was his candid reflection on a traumatic episode of being falsely accused of doping.
“I knew sport would finish eventually. I couldn’t care less. But your integrity tested is a different story.
When the news did come out that the A sample didn’t match the B, I didn’t know how to react. I wasn’t excited.“
He continued,
“Like, I wasn’t going to celebrate my own innocence. I was more angry and disappointed in how I was treated by the people who are supposed to look out for you.“
Peter’s resilience was palpable as he added,
“People are always gonna question your innocence. You still Google my name and there’s more articles about drug allegations than anything about Tokyo.
So that’s gonna be there for life. There’s always gonna be a cloud over your head. But you have to keep pushing and stay strong when you need to as well.“
Tune in Tuesday night on SAS Australia at 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
The remaining nine recruits face challenges with drone warfare and a treacherous mountain rappel. Plus, brace yourselves for another departure and personal stories that promise to tug at the heartstrings.
The star recruits remaining on SAS Australia in 2023 are:
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
Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
