Jana Pittman makes a heartfelt plea to Australians in lockdown - ahead of her debut on SAS Australia

Olympic hurdler Jana Pittman has delivered a heartfelt plea to fans amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 38-year-old has urged Australians to 'protect the vulnerable ones around us' as the country continues to battle the highly contagious Delta Covid variant.

'As a duty, I think we have to do our ­utmost to protect the vulnerable ones around us,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

'Even if someone doesn't believe in Covid or the situation around trying to reduce numbers, this is about Australia as a whole and the community that we live in.'

Since retiring from sport, Jana has become a medical practitioner and is working in the emergency department at Sydney's Blacktown Hospital.

She explained: 'We are getting later presentations where people are probably more ill because they are afraid to come into the hospital early either from catching Covid or just because they are trying to stick by the rules and not come in.'

Jana's interview comes as she prepares to make her debut on the new season of SAS Australia.

She will appear alongside former NRL player Sam Burgess, socialite Brynne Edelsten and celebrity chef Manu Feildel.

Tennis champion Alicia Molik, Home and Away's Dan Ewing, actress Bonnie Anderson and former politician Emma Husar will also star on the program.

TV presenter Erin Holland, AFL star Heath Shaw, actress Isabelle Cornish and sprinter Jessica Peris are also set to compete on the show.

The series will also star Ironman Jett Kenny, Olympic runner John Steffensen, volleyball champion Kerri Pottharst, Bra Boy Koby Abberton, singer Pete Murray and tennis star Mark Philippoussis. 

SAS Australia will see the return of chief instructor Ant Middleton and directing staff Jason Fox, Matthew Ollerton and Mark 'Billy' Billingham.

The new season of SAS Australia will air on Channel Seven later this year