Runner Turia Pitt Refused to Let Tragedy Stop Her — Now She’s Inspiring Millions

People are asking what happened to ultramarathoner Turia Pitt after her harrowing story was shared on 60 Minutes Australia on July 21, 2025.

Turia currently works as an author, motivational speaker, and coach, but she used to be an athlete who nearly died during a competition in Western Australia back in 2011.

Turia Pitt is an athlete who was competing in an ultramarathon known as the Ironman Australia triathlon back in 2011, per the BBC. She nearly died after a bushfire broke out in Kimberley, Western Australia, where the event took place.

Turia was trapped in the fire and received burns to 65 percent of her body. She lost seven of her fingers and has had more than 200 surgical procedures, according to ABC.Net.AU News.

The athlete was told that she would never be able to compete again after the fire, and Turia was in the hospital for 864 days after being severely burned.

Turia survived by ignoring her instincts when surrounded by the flames and rushed "headlong back through the flames," per 60 Minutes.

"I remember the hot Kimberley sun beating down, burning my already burnt skin,” she said on Instagram years later, per 7News. "I remember accidentally sitting on a bull ant nest, staring in confusion as the ants started swarming across my legs. I remember trying to drink some water but spitting it out because it was boiling hot. I remember seeing bits of my skin stuck to the rocks and spinifex."

The runner said she also thought of her now-husband, Michael Hoskin, as she tried to escape the fire.

"I remember thinking about Michael, my Michael," she continued. "I remember telling myself, ‘Think of his warm face, think of his honey voice, think of his golden skin. Keep thinking about Michael.'"

Turia was eventually saved by helicopter pilot Paul Cripps. "He was my saviour," she said. "I also didn’t know how dangerous it had been for him to fly down the gorge to us. That balancing the chopper on one skid was the result of sheer gutsiness and extreme skill," she added of the dramatic rescue.

She later married Michael, and the couple has two boys. Turia also became an author, and her latest book, "Selfish: How to Unlearn the Rules that are Breaking You," will be available to purchase in October. She shared an announcement about the new book on Instagram

"If you’ve ever felt stretched too thin, lost, or like you’re living by someone else’s rules: I wrote SELFISH for you," she wrote.

Her first book, "Everything to Live For," details the terrifying bush fire that severely burned her and almost took her life, as well as the aftermath.

Despite being told she would never compete again, Turia completed the 140-mile Ironman Australia triathlon in 2016. She raised funds from the race to support Interplast, an agency that provides free reconstructive surgery to people in the Asia Pacific.