Live

Repeat: OTB Breakfast

05:00 AM-07:00 AM

Repeat: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
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 ...



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."

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Black Jason Black Off The Ball Otb Am Podcast