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This article was first published 9 years ago

Why this magazine cover is truly inspiring!

July 02, 2014 16:06 IST

Image: Turia Pitt on the cover of The Australian Women's Weekly
Photographs: The Australian Women's Weekly

The Australian Women's Weekly could have easily got a celebrity on the cover of its latest issue. It didn't.

In 2011, Australian athlete Turia Pitt was participating in an ultramarathon when she was caught in a bushfire that left her with burns over 60 per cent of her body.

A prolonged battle with the organisers of the race who refused to take any responsibility for her situation ended in an out-of-court settlement.

But after 100 surgeries and close to 900 days in the hospital, Turia Pitt now looks like this.

She has lost all her fingers on her right hand and her partner had to give up his job so he could care for her full time.

Pitt, also an aspiring model, has however moved on.

She has gone back to training for biking and swimming marathons, hiked the Great Wall of China and has even penned her memoir -- Everything to Live For.

Now Turia Pitt is on the cover of Australian Women's Weekly.

At a time when magazine covers almost always feature models and actresses airbrushed to perfection, the decision to feature a burn victim has been applauded across the board.

This comes close on the heels of the case of blogger Brooke Birmingham, whose fabulous 172-pound weight loss story caught the attention of Self magazine.

However on seeing her 'after' photograph -- an image of her in a bikini that showed her loose skin around her waist -- the magazine controversially cancelled it only to backtrack and invite her eventually to participate in another feature on real women and their weight loss stories.

Turia Pitt, considers the cover as 'a huge honour' and 'feel(s) very humbled'.

"For me, it sends the message that confidence equals beauty," she has been quoted as saying.

"There are a lot of women out there who are so beautiful but don't have the confidence, and that's what gets you over the line."

We couldn't agree more!