← Home
The Rich Roll Podcast · September 7, 2026 · 1h 36m

Olympic Medalist Jenny Simpson On Her Sudden Cardiac Arrest After A Race & The Journey Back To Health

Jenny Simpson

Jenny Simpson, a three-time Olympian and Olympic medalist in middle-distance running, sat down with Rich Roll eight weeks after collapsing at a community mile race. She had no pulse and required more than twenty minutes of CPR before being revived. The cause was an inherited heart condition that no one had known she had. The conversation covers the collapse on June 16th, the five days she cannot remember and what those days were actually like, and the early stages of her return to health.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

•
Sudden cardiac arrest after a community race
Jenny Simpson collapsed at a community mile race in June with no pulse and required more than twenty minutes of CPR.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
•
An inherited heart condition nobody knew she had
The cardiac arrest traced back to an inherited heart condition that had gone undiagnosed despite her career as an elite runner.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
•
Five days she can't remember
Simpson has no memory of five days surrounding the event, and the episode explores what those days were actually like.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini

Editorial

•
A first public telling, eight weeks out
Rich interviewed Simpson eight weeks after the collapse, before she had spoken publicly about it.
ClaudeChatGPTGemini

Misc

✧Collapsed in June at a community mile race; no pulse; more than twenty minutes of CPR.
✧Sat down eight weeks after the event, before she had spoken publicly about it.
✧Has no memory of five days around the collapse.
Was this useful?