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WATCH: Back from the dead | Irish adventurer Jason Black

Donegal endurance athlete Jason Black spoke to OTB AM about some of his experiences competing in ...



Other Sports

WATCH: Back from the dead | Irish adventurer Jason Black

Donegal endurance athlete Jason Black spoke to OTB AM about some of his experiences competing in the world's most grueling endurance races - including dying during an event last summer before being resuscitated to live to tell the tale.

This year he is tackling the 'Worldbig3' - a solo race across America, solo row the Atlantic Ocean and solo summit of Mount Everest.

In 2019 the Donegal native ran into trouble on the 'Eco Challange,' a nine-day race across the Fiji islands, set by Bear Grylls.

The event involves a mix of jungle mountain navigation, white water rafting, deep-sea diving and a number of other activities while finding your own food and shelter.

On the final day, Jason contracted a very rare disease in his leg and had to be airlifted to New Zealand.

Having waded in dirty water, he picked up a bug through a cut.

jason black

"My blood pressure dropped, the doctors and the medics got a hold of me and found out that they could do nothing for me in Fiji," he told OTB AM.

"It was kind of a 'Red alert' job. They sent for an airplane and airlifted me to New Zealand. I crashed mid-flight, they had to resuscitate me, whatever it was, it just attacked my internal organs."

"I don't remember any of that, I remember waking up in New Zealand," Jason reflected.

While he tries to not think about the incident, Jason did find his mind creeping back to those days during quieter moments:

"You're back in the mountains in Donegal or back in Ireland here, or you're back on your bike doing long hours. You have that opportunity to reflect, [you think] wow, that was close.

"Do I dwell on it? No, I don't."

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