Jana Pittman was one of Australia's greatest athletes. Then she lost everything and moved into her garage.

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From a young age, Olympian Jana Pittman loved to run.

The self-described "happy-go-lucky" kid loved how it made her feel; from the freedom of each step, to the endorphins afterwards. She loved it all.

Away from the social pressure of the classroom, the track was Pittman's safe space.

"I remember just feeling sheer enjoyment," the former athlete told Sarah Davidson, host of Mamamia's Pivot Club podcast.

"Don't get me wrong, I was nervous," she continued, adding that there were times she didn't compete out of fear.

"The first time I ever would have run against Cathy Freeman, I hid in the cool room and then blamed an injury that wasn't there," she said.

"But 99 per cent of the time I got on that track and just loved it."

Watch: Jana Pittman speaks about retirement. Post continues after video.

In her final year of high school, Pittman's demanding sports schedule meant she only attended 30 days of classes. She even completed her HSC exam at 2am in a Chilean embassy between heats at the World Junior Championship.

At 17, Pittman debuted at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, placing fifth in the Women's 4 x 400m relay. She placed fifth again at the 2004 Athens Olympics in hurdles after tearing her right knee.

By 2012, Pittman had grown frustrated with her Olympic experiences.

"I had, what I would say was, a pretty crappy relationship with the Olympics," she said, explaining she was focused solely on gold and felt disappointed when she didn't place first.

Wanting a fresh start, she tried boxing, rowing, and cycling before former training partner Astrid Radjenovic introduced her to bobsledding. Despite crashing on her first run in Germany, Pittman was "absolutely hooked."

At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Pittman and Radjenovic finished 14th in the two-women bobsled event, making Pittman one of the rare athletes to compete in both Summer and Winter Olympics.

Listen to the full episode below. Post continues afterwards.

'That just ripped me to pieces. I was so low.'

When Pittman's Olympic career ended, she was 29. It was time for her other childhood dream to be realised.

But the road wasn't without its hurdles.

Pittman had always wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. But retiring when she did, she thought she had missed the boat.

"I got to 30 and I thought that's it, life's over, you know, I can't change careers and it's it's too late to start medical school," she admitted.

"I don't want to feel like an idiot and the impostor in the room."

Her mental health was also at an all-time low, having lost at another Olympic Games and suffering from three miscarriages.

"Then my marriage fell apart and he met someone else very quickly. And that just ripped me to pieces. I was so low," she said.

It was Pittman's mum who helped her move forward.

"I was sitting there thinking, I don't know what more you can throw at me," Pittman said.

"I was so low and so crushed and so burned and so down and so vulnerable that mum walked in the door and put her career hat on and said, 'You've always wanted to be a doctor. Give it a crack.'"

Pittman took her mum's advice, and started studying for an exam to get into university medicine.

"The first time, I failed it miserably, and got seven rejection letters," she said.

On the second try, she was successful, and was accepted into Western Sydney University.

"I can wholeheartedly say that the day I got in, I cried harder than any loss that I'd had in any track and field," Pittman said.

"Don't get me wrong, I still miss the Olympics. But I know if I had have won, I would not have even sat that exam once, let alone twice."

The hard part, however, wasn't over. As a single mother-of-six, Pittman had to balance studying with her family.

Not only had Pittman welcomed a baby by herself, via a sperm donor, she also bought a house near her parents. The expenses caused a heavy strain on her finances.

Jana with her kids. Image: Instagram/@janapittmanofficial

After failing to sell her house, the university student had to make a hard decision.

"I ended up moving into the garage," she shared. "I basically rented the rooms in my house to pay for the food for my children and to pay for an au pair because I was a single mum, to help me with the kids.

"I was so lucky that my wonderful second mother owns a daycare centre and so she let my kids come for practically nothing, which was extraordinary.

"Eventually, I had to go cap in hand and ask my parents to help me out," Pittman added. "We got there, and we learnt a lot."

The now-43-year-old received her medical degree in 2019, and is specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

After such a long journey, Pittman embraces the identity with open arms.

"I now actually describe myself as a doctor, I rarely put athlete in there," she said. "I say, 'Hi, I'm Jana. I'm a doctor. I've got six kids.' That's my main identity. That's how I do it in my dating profile."

Today, Pittman maintains that "when horrible things happen, they will adjust your focus."

"If you just give it a breath, and time and space, you will heal slowly and something else will happen that'll pale that one back into insignificance," she said.

The doctor added that the "blessing of being human" is getting to experience different chapters. 

"Hopefully you'll look back at them and think, 'Wow, what a life I've lived.'"

Feature Image: Instagram/@janapittmanofficial/Getty.