Olympic Medalist Jenny Simpson On Her Sudden Cardiac Arrest After A Race & The Journey Back To Health
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What happened to Jenny Simpson during the June 16th community race?
I pushed myself to the limit with no fear that my body wasn't capable of it and couldn't handle it. And it was capable, it did handle it until it didn't.
Jenny Simpson, considered the most accomplished women's fifteen hundred meter runner in history,
is in the hospital after collapsing at a track event. My heart just completely stopped. Chest compressions and the A D. They saved my life. Like, I had a one in ten chance of surviving перod. It was so dark and it was so violent and it lasted for so long. Like I was so determined. I was not gonna slip away. It is unlikely I'll ever be able to return to running. I really want to encourage people to resist the temptation to adopt fear. Like fear is just not the answer.
After you regained consciousness, one of the first things you said was, like, did I win the race and what was my time?
Yeah.
You being this longtime elite champion in track and field, so decorated. You have retired from professional running. You took this job as chief running officer at Fleet Feet. Uh you temporarily relocated to North Carolina. I guess that's where their headquarters is.
Right, right.
Uh and in an effort to stay plugged into the running community, which is kind of your job, right? Yeah. Your chief running so it's like you have to show up at the community runs and all of this stuff. As far as I understand it. You showed up at a local kind of like mile race to pace the amateurs. Uh and and and this was two months ago, this was in June, and you collapsed. You uh had no pulse. You were resuscitated with CPR and rushed to the hospital. Uh this was big news in the running world. Um there was a lot of press about that incident. The next day And the day after and maybe a couple days after that, about like how your recovery was going. And and and of course like lots of outpouring of support from the running community, et cetera.
But then the press stops. Like I searched today. I was like, after about June eighteenth, there really isn't anything that has been written. about what happened or how you're doing. And I know that you really haven't spoken publicly about what has happened. Uh, so I'm really honored that you've given me this opportunity to kind of share from your perspective what went down and um how you're doing and you know what happened. Uh so What did happen?
Yeah, June sixteenth, just like you said, I went to a a mile, a community mile race. Um, and I I finished the race and and paced some girls uh around the track in a mile. Um And I finished. There's there's there's pictures from the day, uh, which is like actually really wonderful for me. Um, I'll get to this in in a minute, but I don't remember anything from that Tuesday. So it's helpful for me to have these pictures. But there's pictures of me chatting with the day, you
don't remember the entire day.
Totally lost the whole day. Yeah. Um And I'm chatting with people after the race is over. So I was I was fine. Um, but I'm on the infield, and what's been told to me is that I was chatting with somebody and said, Hey, I need a minute, like I don't feel very well. And then I collapsed. And so I went into sudden cardiac arrest. Thirty-nine years of being healthy and active, and like not just healthy, like I've pushed my body to the most extreme limit I'm capable of. Um, but on June sixteenth, my m the electricity in my heart got um interrupted and my heart just completely stopped. And I mean Thank these people and thank God that they were there um by standards at the race, including um my boss who hired me at Fleet Feet, Joey Pointer, and his wife, um, Ivy, who ended up being really critical in the story.
But um, them along with several others just identified right away. They knew what was going on. And so they started chest compressions and it's just amazing. So um I'll pause for a moment. Um My my boss and his wife, they have a son, his name is Liam, and he has a heart condition. He was born with a congenital heart condition. And so years ago they bought an AED for his track team to carry around wherever Liam is going.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What happened to Jenny Simpson during the June 16th community race?
0:00–11:43
2
How did by‑standers and emergency responders save her life?
11:43–24:09
3
Why can’t Jenny remember the five days in the ICU and what was that experience like?
24:09–38:17
4
What is the inherited heart condition (ARVC) that caused her sudden cardiac arrest?
38:17–52:34
5
How is Jenny’s future in running and athletics being affected by her diagnosis?
52:34–1:04:57
6
What role do fear, mental toughness, and faith play in her recovery?
1:04:57–1:16:16
7
What advice does she give about emergency preparedness and heart‑health screening?
1:16:16–1:27:48
8
How does Jenny envision her identity and purpose beyond being a professional runner?
1:27:48–1:38:50
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Rich Roll Podcast
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