The character arc of Turia Pitt
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 24 July 1987. Between then and now sit a life as a fit young athlete, a 100 kilometre ultramarathon in the Kimberley on 2 September 2011, a bushfire that swept up a gorge with nowhere to go, burns to 65 percent of her body, several hours before help arrived, a month in a medically induced coma, the loss of the fingers of one hand and two on the other, a damning parliamentary inquiry, a settlement in 2014, three books, treks that raised over a million dollars, two Ironman finishes in 2016 and two sons. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Turia Pitt?
They did not expect her to survive. She finished Kona.
Before September 2011 she was a healthy, fit athlete. On the second of that month she was competing in a 100 kilometre ultramarathon through Western Australia's Kimberley region when she was caught in a large bushfire. There was, as she later told the inquiry, nowhere else to go when the runners tried to outrun a blaze sweeping up a gorge outside Kununurra.
She sustained burns to sixty five percent of her body. It was several hours before medical help arrived and she could be airlifted out. Doctors did not expect her to survive. She spent a month in a medically induced coma. All the fingers of her right hand and two on her left had to be amputated.
The parliamentary inquiry into the race was damning of the organisers, finding among other things that they had been unable to communicate properly between checkpoints. She brought Supreme Court action, and in May 2014 an out of court settlement was reached.
What she did next is the reason she is here. She became a speaker, gave a talk in 2014 titled Unmask your Potential, wrote three books, and mentored thousands of people through online programmes. As an ambassador for a medical charity that does reconstructive surgery in developing countries she led trekking expeditions: the Great Wall of China in 2014, the Inca Trail in 2015, the Kokoda Track in 2016. Through that work she has contributed to more than a million dollars being raised.
On 8 May 2016 she competed in her first Ironman Australia and finished in thirteen hours, twenty four minutes and forty two seconds. On 8 October that year she completed the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in fourteen hours, thirty seven minutes and thirty seconds. She was named her state's Woman of the Year in 2014 and was a finalist for Australian of the Year in 2016. She has two sons, born in 2017 and 2020, and launched a podcast in 2022.
The moments
Turia Pitt's timeline.
The 2000s
A fit young athlete
Everyday. Ordinary, athletic, twenty four years old.
The 2010s
Caught in the fire
Setback, and it changed everything. A hundred kilometre race, a gorge, and nowhere to go.
Sixty five percent
Setback, and it changed everything. Hours before help came, and they did not expect her to live.
A month in a coma
Setback, and it changed everything. A month asleep, and she woke without most of her fingers.
The inquiry
Setback, and it changed her direction. A parliamentary inquiry, and it was damning.
Recover quietly, or go public
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: put it all in public, taken, or recover out of sight. She has since helped raise over a million dollars for reconstructive surgery and finished two Ironman races.
Woman of the Year
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her state named her its woman of the year.
A settlement
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She took them to court, and it was settled.
Unmask your Potential
Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years after the fire, on a stage, talking about masks.
The Great Wall
Milestone, and it changed everything. She walked the Great Wall to pay for other people's surgery.
Ironman Australia
Milestone, and it changed everything. A 3.8 kilometre swim, 180 on the bike, then a marathon.
The World Championship
Milestone, and it changed everything. Kona. The one every triathlete wants, five years after the fire.
A son
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two sons, and she carried them both.
The 2020s
Hard Work
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A podcast called Hard Work, which is the only honest title for it.
The programmes keep running and the trekkers keep signing up. What she set moving is measured in the million dollars of reconstructive surgery she has helped pay for, done for people who were burned like she was and had no airlift coming.
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Turia Pitt: frequently asked questions
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Where does this timeline of Turia Pitt's life come from?
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Sources
- Turia Pitt, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The parliamentary inquiry into the Kimberley Ultramarathon, and her own evidence to it.
- Ironman race records for 8 May 2016 and 8 October 2016.
- Interplast Australia and New Zealand records for the treks and the funds raised.