Turia Pitt

Turia Pitt
Turia Pitt
Born (1987-07-24) 24 July 1987[1]
Tahiti, French Polynesia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Athlete, Author, Motivational Speaker
Known for

At 24, Turia's became trapped in a grass fire while competing in a 100km ultramarathon. She was choppered out of the remote desert barely alive, with full thickness burns to 65 per cent of her body.

Renowned for her pure grit, indomitable spirit and passion for humanitarian work, Turia has gone on to thrive in the ultimate story of triumph over adversity.
Notable work Ambassador for Interplast Australia & New Zealand
Home town Ulladulla
Partner(s) Michael Hoskin[2]
Children Hakavai Hoskin
Parent(s) Michael Pitt
Celestine Vaite

Turia Pitt (born 24 July 1987) is an Australian mining engineer, humanitarian, athlete, motivationalist, and author.

Career

Turia Pitt was competing in an ultramarathon through Western Australia's Kimberley region in 2011 when she was caught in a grass fire. An inquiry into the Kimberley Ultramarathon was damning of the race organisers, RacingThePlanet.[3] She suffered burns to 65% of her body and had seven fingers amputated. She launched Supreme Court action against the organisers, and in May 2014, it was reported that it was resolved with an out-of-court settlement.[4] During the proceedings Turia stated there was "nowhere else to go" as they all tried to outrun an out of control blaze that swept up Selena Gorge, just outside Kununurra, on 2nd September 2011.

The organisers of the event, RacingThePlanet, were harshly criticised for their negligence and incompetence through a Parliamentary inquiry conducted by the Australian Government.[5] Organisers were unable to communicate properly between checkpoints, the inquiry was told.

One of Australia’s most admired and widely recognized people, Turia has been profiled everywhere from 60 Minutes to Women’s Weekly. She has scaled the Great Wall of China, competed in the Ironman World Championships and walked the Kokoda Track. She has become a sought-after public speaker with appearances for TED with her inspirational talk titled Unmask your Potential at the TEDx Macquarie University conference in September 2014. [6]

Turia has mentored thousands through her online programs, raised funds and awareness for a variety of philanthropic concerns and authored two books - Everything To Live For and Unmasked. [7] Turia Pitt in 2018 joined Anthony Robins as a headliner for the National Achievers Congress (NAC 2018) in Brisbane. [8]

Turia Pitt was named the New South Wales Premier's Award for Woman of the Year 2014, she was a finalist for Young Australian of the Year, she was a finalist for Australian of the Year and also was the NSW Finalist for Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 2016. She is an Ambassador for Interplast Australia & New Zealand, and has been featured on the cover of The Australian Women's Weekly, which attracted worldwide media attention.[7][9]

She is also a humanitarian and has raised money for Interplast by leading trekking adventures. She completed the Great Wall of China in 2014, Inca Trek in 2015 and Kokoda in 2016. In her capacity as ambassador, Turia supports Interplast by personally hosting these events, speaking, and leading fundraising adventures. Through this work, along with her support for other Interplast fundraising initiatives, Turia has directly and indirectly contributed to more than $1 million being raised to support our work. [5][10]

Medical

Turia Pitt was a healthy, fit female athlete. She was competing on an Ultramarathon when an out of control grass fire trapped several runners including Turia. She sustained 65 per cent of burns to her body. It was several hours before medical help arrived and she was choppered out. Doctors did not expect her to survive her injuries. [7]

Turia was placed in a medically induced coma for a month and passed away three times. [6] For the first two years she was required to wear a full-body compression suit and mask, only allowed to remove for 1 hour a day. This mask was required to help smooth out the scars on her face and body. Turia in a very public display removed her mask for the first time on the 60 Minutes program revealing her face to the world.

Turia lost seven fingers due to her burns. All fingers on her right hand and two fingers on her left hand needed to be amputated. She endured six grueling months in hospital, underwent over 200 operations and spent two years in recovery. Surviving against overwhelming odds, Turia rebuilt her life and defied every expectation placed on her. [7]

Personal Life

Turia spent her childhood in Ulladulla, a small coastal town in NSW. Here she attended Ulladulla Public School and went on to Ulladulla High School. During her youth she was well known for her athletic abilities and did well academically. She went on to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) where she completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) / Bachelor of Science in 2010. [11]

Turia met Michael Hoskin at school. The pair became a couple years later and relocated to Western Australia together. The two enjoyed travel and a physical lifestyle. It was after this time that Turia was injured in the 2011 ultramarathon fire.[12] Michael supported and assisted Turia during her recovery and later the two moved home to Ulladulla.

It was announced on 21 July 2015 that she and long-term partner Michael Hoskin were engaged to be married.[13]

On 8 May 2016, Pitt completed her first Ironman Australia competition with a time of 13:24:42.[14]

On 8 October 2016, she completed the Ironman World Championship at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with a time of 14:37:30.[15]

Pitt and fiancé Michael announced on June 11, 2017 that they were expecting their first child. They announced on July 21, 2017 that they were expecting a boy.[16] On December 7, 2017 they welcomed their son, Hakavai Hoskin.

References

  1. ↑ "Happy birthday to Australia's most inspirational woman, Turia Pitt!". Woman's Day. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Gusmaroli, Danielle (21 July 2015). "Turia Pitt and boyfriend Michael Hoskin announce engagement". Daily Mail Australia. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Inquiry blasts organiser of disastrous Kimberley ultramarathon". The ABC. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ultramarathon fire victim Turia Pitt reaches settlement with Racing the Planet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 Pitt, Turia. "Inquiry into the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon - tabling of formal evidence and other documents". Parliament.wa.gov.au. Economics and Industry committee. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 TEDx Talks (2014-10-21), Unmask your potential | Turia Pitt | TEDxMacquarieUniversity, retrieved 2018-07-28
  7. 1 2 3 4 "About Turia". TuriaPitt.com. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Turia Pitt - The Inspirational Achiever - Success Resources Australia". Success Resources Australia. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  9. ↑ "Turia Pitt joins ranks of Women's Weekly cover stars". The Australian Women's Weekly. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "News". interplast.org.au. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "UNSW celebrates its star graduates". Engineering. 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  12. ↑ "Meet Michael Hoskin, Turia Pitt's baby daddy". Now To Love. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  13. ↑ "Burns survivor Turia Pitt and boyfriend Michael Hoskin are engaged". Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Weldon, Nick (13 May 2016). "Death-Defying Runner Finishes Ironman". Runner's World.
  15. ↑ "IRONMAN Official Site - IRONMAN triathlon 140.6 & 70.3". m.eu.ironman.com. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  16. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BWy-Bw8A3un/. Retrieved 16 May 2017. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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