‘I was a ticking time bomb’: Erin McNaught explains her brutal SAS Australia breakdown

After surprising viewers by outlasting professional athletes on SAS Australia, Erin McNaught explains why she threw in the towel during a brutal and emotional combat course on Monday night.

Erin McNaught believes it was physically not safe for her to continue the relentless combat course on SAS Australia.

On the penultimate episode of the Channel 7 reality show on Monday night, the Brisbane-based former Miss Universe Australia had to be willed by the SES commanders to quit, after she was lapped by her fellow competitors, who were then forced to continue the course until she caught them.

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McNaught was visibly distraught about quitting the course, handing in her arm band for the benefit of her teammates.

Erin McNaught in SAS Australia, episode 11. Picture: Nigel Wright/Channel 7

“I was sobbing (watching it back), and just reliving it, all those feelings again of how much I wanted it but knew I wasn’t going to get there and the realisation of knowing I had to give my number in. It was intense,” McNaught said.

“I think it (the course) was two hours, but it felt like an eternity because we were so broken.

“I knew I could keep going if they let me. But when Ant (Middleton) said I was a liability and told me to look at my teammates, when I looked at their faces, I knew (quitting) was the right thing to do.

“They could see I was at my absolute capacity and it wouldn’t have been safe for me to continue. I would have done serious damage.”

Erin McNaught in SAS Australia, episode 11. Picture: Nigel Wright/Channel 7

After leaving the show, McNaught discovered she had torn two muscles, including her rotator cuff, and had three bulging discs in her back.

During the combat course they had to hold wet sand bags, which were 15kg dry, above their heads for 10 to 15 minutes.

“They were heavy, especially at that point. We were so depleted and we had no energy left,” McNaught said.

“I was still running that lap when they were holding the sand bags. It just went on and on and got to the point where it wasn’t a good idea to continue.”

Erin McNaught at home in Brisbane after filming the show. Picture: Liam Kidston.

She said the soldiers spoke to her afterwards and commended her on her efforts but said they could see she had reached her limit physically.

McNaught, a 38-year-old mother of two, said she was proud to have broken down stereotypes about the strength of women, and particularly mothers, having outlasted professional athletes on the selection course.

“When an athlete did drop out I was surprised I was still there. I felt like a ticking time bomb,” she said.

“The support I’ve had has really blown me away. I was expecting other women and mums to root for me but to get messages from men saying how proud I should be of myself and never judge a book by its cover, I hope people have learnt that, to never judge a book.”

“I think a lot of people maybe underestimated me and that’s good. I’ve broken down those stereotypes. That’s why I went on the show.”

The show concludes on Channel 7 tonight with five competitors – James Magnussen, Merrick Watts, Molly Taylor, Nick Cummins and Sabrina Frederick – left on the course.

Originally published as ‘I was a ticking time bomb’: Erin McNaught explains her brutal SAS Australia breakdown