After suffering a crippling shoulder injury, overcoming mental challenges and surviving on military rations, all while pushing his body beyond its limit, NRL star Sam Burgess is the only recruit to have passed the gruelling SAS Australia selection and ultimately win the competition.
Former Home and Away actor Dan Ewing was eliminated by the directing staff in the finale episode after failing the first phase of final selection, while Olympian Jana Pittman was sent home under exhaustion, despite completing phase two.
For their first challenge, the recruits were ambushed by a group of hostiles before being held hostage for hours.
The celebrities didn’t have any forewarning of the attack, but were later tasked with revealing what valuable information they could remember about their hostages and their surroundings.
Dan Ewing was eliminated by the DS in the finale episode while Jana Pittman was sent home under exhaustion, despite completing phase two.
(Image: Seven)
After being released, the DS interrogated the recruits to see what intelligence they had gathered.
After failing to recall relevant details, Dan was instantly removed from the course. The actor buckled under pressure after misunderstanding the nature of the interrogation, and came up with a cover story rather than providing details.
Dan and chief DS Ant Middleton shared a tender goodbye, before the four final recruits continued on to phase two of final selection.
The recruits were then tasked with a terrifying helicopter insertion into enemy territory to locate a cache containing important information about an enemy.
While John and Mark both passed the final challenge, only Sam was chosen for selection, ultimately winning the course.
(Image: Seven)When they came under fire, the stars were forced to escape to safety by hanging off the end of a helicopter extraction rope.
Sam and sprinter John Steffensen were paired up together and nailed their roles, getting back on the helicopter in time, both effectively passing the challenge.
Meanwhile, Jana, who was paired up with tennis legend Mark Philippoussis, was reaching her breaking point physically. But with just seconds to spare, the two athletes completed the challenge in time.
Despite passing the mission, Jana was eliminated by the DS.
“Outstanding effort. We are all super proud of you. We would have loved to have brought you forward but your reserve is empty,” Ant told the mother-of-four before giving her a warm hug.
During the final challenge, the recruits were suspended 300m over a deep ravine, forced to hang from a rope for 90 seconds before dropping below.
(Image: Seven)Jana said the experience had been an “extraordinary journey”. “I tried as hard as I could to match it with the boys.”
“I’m trying to show other women how confident you can be with your fears if you just give it a real crack. I’m really proud of all the things I’ve achieved.”
During the final challenge, the three remaining recruits were suspended 300m over a deep ravine, forced to hang from a rope for 90 seconds before letting go and dropping below.
Sam – a clear frontrunner from the beginning – managed to overcome a debilitating shoulder injury and successfully hang from the rope, also passing the challenge, while John and Mark also made it through.
Ant, along with fellow DS Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, Jason ‘Foxy Fox and Ollie Ollerton then discussed who is worthy of passing selection.
Sam managed to overcome a debilitating shoulder injury to win SAS Australia.
(Image: Seven)Ultimarely, despite all successfully finishing the course, only Sam passed selection, making him the sole winner of SAS Australia season two.
“It was great to achieve the goal. It was a once in a lifetime experience,” he told the camera while soaking in his win.
“What I’m taking from it is I’m going to put all my time and my emotion into the places that deserve it in my life. It starts with my kids and just making sure I’m the best role model for them.”
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