Tracey Yukich went through quite a scare after signing up for season 8 of The Biggest Loser in 2009.
Yukich, a mom of four, started gaining weight after becoming pregnant and struggling with depression amid her then-husband’s deployment. Ultimately, her weight gain led her to go on The Biggest Loser, but things took a turn during the first challenge when she experienced a medical emergency.
The contestants were driven to a beach where they were told they had to run a mile to decide who would officially be on the show.
“In my head, I’m like, ‘I can run, I’ve got four kids, I’m running after them all the time.’ But it was the longest mile, ever,” Yukich recalled on the August 2025 Netflix documentary, Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser, noting that she “didn’t pace anything” and her body started to “shut down” as her legs felt like “lead.”
Yukich ended up collapsing on the beach. She completed the race with the other contestants’ help, but as soon as she crossed the finish line she collapsed once again and became unresponsive. She was quickly medevaced via helicopter to a local hospital.
“I just felt like I was floating. … And then my grandpa was there and then I saw darkness but then I saw light, so I knew I died that day,” Yukich explained, adding that she later found out that she had rhabdomyolysis, a serious condition where damaged muscle tissue breaks down and releases into the bloodstream.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Yukich:
Why Did Tracey Yukich Go On ‘The Biggest Loser’?
After gaining weight from pregnancy, dealing with depression and navigating marital challenges, Yukich said she felt like the weight loss series could “fix” her.
“The idea of being on The Biggest Loser, I felt like … maybe it would fix my marriage, maybe it would fix me,” Yukich said in an August 2025 episode of Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser. “Maybe it would make me a better mom, a better friend. I felt like my weight and everything about it was something that constantly was bringing me down. I wanted to change my life and I do feel like at that time it was, like, my only hope.”
Yukich said that facing infidelity in her marriage was “just a snippet” of some of her and her former husband’s problems, which led her to going on the show.
“I thought it was my fault because I was fat,” she said in the documentary. “I don’t want to be disrespected, I don’t want to be yelled at, I don’t want to be harmed, I don’t want you to tell me what I can do and can’t do.”
What Happened to Tracey Yukich On ‘The Biggest Loser’?
During the first challenge on The Biggest Loser, Yukich’s body started to “shut down” while running a mile on the beach. She ended up finishing the race with the other contestants’ help, but as soon as she crossed the finish line Yukich collapsed and became unresponsive. The mom was transported via helicopter to a local hospital and believed she “died that day.”
“I saw darkness but then I saw light, so I knew I died that day,” she said in Fit for TV, adding that she found out she had rhabdomyolysis.
The series’ doctor, Robert Huizenga, later recalled meeting Yukich at the hospital, where Yukich was “really angry” about the suggestion that she go home.
“She didn’t want to go home,” he noted.
Yukich went on to explain that she opened up about her marriage issues and depression to Huzienga, who then agreed that the reality TV series was “exactly what [she] need[s].”
“‘You need to go on the show, Tracey,’” Yukich revealed. “He’s like, ‘You don’t need to go back to your life, you need to create a new one and start right here.’”
What Does Tracey Yukich Do Now?
Following the show, Yukich divorced her ex-husband and moved to Texas, where she now lives with her second husband and their blended family.
While she isn’t sure if she would go back on The Biggest Loser, Yukich admitted that the experience allowed her to “make some serious changes in [her] life.” Yukich even ran the Boston Marathon with Huizenga.
“What an attitude by this person, like this is a role model to me,” Huizenga said in the documentary.
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