Thai cave rescue diver Dr Craig Challen to appear on SAS Australia
Dr Craig Challen made global headlines after his triumphant efforts during the infamous Thai cave rescue. Now he’s taking on a new challenge.
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Dr Craig Challen has universally been lauded as a hero alongside Dr Richard Harris for their roles in the rescue of 13 trapped soccer players and their coach from Thai caves in 2018. But that title sits uncomfortably with him.
The 57-year-old diver believes there’s nothing special about him.
“I’m just an ordinary guy with a bit of an unusual hobby,” he says, modestly. “And I found myself in this situation where, thankfully, I was able to lend a hand in getting these kids out. But I don’t look at it as everybody else looks at it.
“As uncomfortably as it sits with me, I just try and be a role model. And if I can be an inspiration or an example to some people then I guess that’s a good thing.”
Challen says most of the time he can walk down the street “unaccosted”, with some people perhaps taking a second look, knowing he looks familiar, but not quite able to place him. His face perplexed a fellow recruit on this season of SAS Australia. Olympic gold medallist diver Matthew Mitcham recognised him, but was confused as to where, asking Challen if he’d been on ABC children’s show Play School. “I cannot imagine a less likely person to be on Play
School than me,” the cave explorer says with a laugh, adding that was a first.
Challen and Mitcham are among the 14 star recruits – including world champion boxer Anthony Mundine, AFL commentator Abbey Holmes, convicted drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury, Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice, original Bachelor Tim Robards and actor Craig McLachlan – attempting to pass selection in one of TV’s most savage reality shows.
Under the eye of chief instructor Ant Middleton, and directing staff Ollie Ollerton, Jamie “Jay” Morton and Anthony “Staz” Stazicker, this latest group descends on a secret base in the Jordanian desert.
Challen was a tentative “yes” when first approached, the former vet always up for a new challenge. But he confesses he tried to get out of it when he realised just how “absolutely ridiculous” his schedule was at the time. “But they came back hard to try and talk me into it, and I’m weak and just can’t say ‘no’ to people so I ended up getting suckered into it,” he says. Challen’s not one for sitting still, so unsurprisingly watching TV is not one of his favourite things. He did go back and watch a few previous seasons of the reality show to “get the gist”.
“The main thing that I was uncertain about was I didn’t know if it was all going to be real or not,” he says. “What it looks like on TV is not necessarily what they did. And, you know, how they represent people.
“But I was quite encouraged when I got there to see that it actually was all real. And we weren’t slinking off and staying in a hotel.”
Over 10 brutal days and nights, the recruits live with drop toilets, one bucket of cold water to shower with daily and unappealing rations.
Challen was fine – and fascinated – with most of the mentally and physically challenging tasks, even being “buried” alive first up.
“I actually feel quite comfortable in those circumstances,” the laid-back Aussie said, drawing on his extensive confined cave-diving experiences.
The only time Challen was a “bit over it” was in one of the “beastings” – a round of arduous physical exercises for training or punishment aimed at making – or breaking rather – the recruits. “Look, there were a couple of sessions where they got us up in the middle of the night and ran us ragged around the parade ground,” he says. “And there was really just one where I was crawling around that parade ground on my elbows and toes. And I really thought to myself, ‘I really wouldn’t mind if this ended right now, I’m a little bit over this’.
“But, I wasn’t going to give up. So you’ve got to endure it.”
And in fact his biggest complaint was the cold porridge every morning.
“That’s the only thing that really bothered me – surely they could have warmed up the porridge,” Challen says. “I’m the oldest person that’s ever done it. And I’m lining up against people who are superior to me physiologically – some of those people are like professional athletes.
“Keeping up to them was a bit hard sometimes – like (Olympic runner) Peter Bol – but I didn’t do too badly for an old bloke.”
From the hot weather to the DS shouting in his face, Challen was unfazed. His wealth of experience and life philosophy of “this too shall pass” made him almost the ideal candidate.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody that’s perfect for it,” he said modestly. “(Production) are definitely looking for a mix of people, not their ideal candidate. But, in some respects, I definitely had a bit of an unfair advantage over some of the younger ones perhaps.”
SAS Australia, Monday, 7.30pm, Seven
Originally published as Thai cave rescue diver Dr Craig Challen to appear on SAS Australia
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