Olympic runner bows out of SAS Australia – Peter Bol VWs fearing injury
Monday night on SAS Australia: Olympic runner Peter Bol called time on his SAS race while actress Zima Anderson revealed the pain of her traumatic childhood.
For the first task of the day, the remaining eight recruits were pitted against one another in an aggressive game of murderball. Despite winning the respect of the DS with his aggression and determination, the task forced Peter to re-evaluate his place on the course.
Deciding to VW, Peter told the recruits he had learned so much on the course, but he needed to think about his future and get back on the track.
“I’ve got world champs this year. I’ve got the Olympics next year. I was fourth in Tokyo. I don’t want to be fourth again,”
said Peter, who admitted he was also fearful of sustaining an injury on the course.
“The Olympics only comes every four years. That fear of not being able to perform when it matters the most, that worries me a bit.
“I don’t want to put myself at risk physically because I still have to go out there and compete for the country. If you’re going against the best in the world, you need every single one per cent.”
The DS summoned the recruits to the parade square to ask them who they believed was the weakest among them. Zima was singled out as the weakest by her fellow recruits, who reassured her it was only because of her small stature.
Upset but not entirely surprised by the result, Zima was called to the mirror room for questioning by the DS.
Zima revealed her turbulent childhood in the foster care system and the effect of her birth mother’s schizophrenia.
“Going through foster systems and the state was pretty hard. When you’re young, you are a sponge; that’s the time when you learn how to love people and how to move as a person. So that was tough.
“I love her [my mum] to pieces, but when I was younger, it was just too tough when someone’s mentally not there at all. She’d leave me places. Having to see constant episodes of emotion without control has been very tough.”
Zima also shared her history of abusive past relationships and her need to please people, often to her detriment.
“Because of my family upbringing, I always seem to choose people who couldn’t love me, and that’s probably where most of my emotions and breakdowns have been.”
The second task of the day saw the recruits split into Alpha and Bravo teams and challenged to carry a combined 150kgs of military supplies through the desert to the peak of a mountain range.
Unlikely hero Zima led Team Bravo to victory with her clear communication and leadership, winning praise from the DS.
Tuesday night on SAS Australia: A rare morning of good morale is destroyed by a worrying accident. Then a high-pressure tactical driving task pushes the recruits to the edge, before they reveal their most shameful moments and emotional confessions.
The star recruits remaining on SAS Australia in 2023 are:
Abbey Holmes, 32 – AFL Field Commentator
Dr Craig Challen, 57 – Thai Cave Rescue Hero
Craig McLachlan, 57 – Actor
Mahalia Murphy, 29 – International Rugby Star
Matthew Mitcham, 35 – Olympic Gold Diver
Tim Robards, 40 – OG Bachelor
Zima Anderson, 25 – Actor
