Watch the smallest player crush her competition in a thrilling endurance challenge

Tiny but mighty Jac Le hung on for over an hour during the Circus Endurance Challenge in Quebec's Îles de la Madeleine to defeat Team Blue's martial artist Dan Ginnane in a stunning victory. (watch the video above)

In Canada's Ultimate Challenge, now streaming free on CBC Gem, 20 players travel across the country to complete in 16 jaw-dropping physical and mental challenges. 

In the Circus Endurance Challenge, one player from each team was selected to hang onto a pole suspended over the Atlantic Ocean. The last player to take the plunge won.

"The more muscles you have, the more you get drained 'cause those muscles require oxygen," said Dan before the challenge. "When I see Shasily and Jacqueline, I'm actually most terrified of these two."

At less than five feet tall, Jac is the smallest player on the show and this challenge was hers to win. "We tried to have a lot of variety in the challenges," said showrunner Erin Brock, "so that different people's strengths would come through. We tried to level the playing field."

We spoke with Jac about the challenge and how she found the strength to keep hanging on. Here's what she had to say.

How intimidated were you as the smallest player?

To be completely honest, I wasn't intimidated at all. I may be the smallest player but I'm definitely not the weakest. I'm a pretty well-rounded athlete — I'm strong, speedy and have great stamina. 

I knew I would be underestimated and I absolutely could not wait to prove people wrong!

Why did you volunteer for the circus challenge?

It made sense for me to compete in this challenge because I was the smallest, which meant I had the least amount of weight to hold up in this arduous endurance challenge. I'm still confused as to why Adam and Quinton were up there, to be honest! I think my entire body is the size of one of Quinton's legs!

I also knew that this challenge was half a mental battle, and that's right up my alley. 

What was going through your mind during the circus challenge?

My team put their trust in me and I didn't want to let them down. 

I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of anything. What I've learned is that you need to centre yourself and breathe to get through it. That's exactly what I did — I just closed my eyes and tuned the world out to focus on my breath and the task at hand. 

What was the hardest part?

The hardest part was how cold it was! I wore the least amount of clothes possible to maximize the friction of my skin on the pipe, so I was freezing as the sun went down. I hate being cold more than anything in the world so this challenge slowly became my worst nightmare!

I knew I was becoming hypothermic on the pipe because I was losing sensation in my extremities, so I knew my body was trying to preserve my core temperature.

I was actually about to drop because I knew the cold was becoming unbearable and dangerous for me, but just as those thoughts popped up, Dan let out a little cry. I realized he was really struggling so I told myself to hold on for a little longer and thankfully he dropped right then!

What kept you going?

What kept me going was my mental fortitude that I spent the past year of my life developing. This was my chance to prove to myself that all my hard work actually paid off. 

I learned that my mind is truly my strongest attribute and now I have something to look back on to remind myself of what I'm capable of when I need a little mental push! As much as it sucked, I'm so grateful for this experience. 

Did it inspire other players to dig deep?

I know that it inspired my team to push harder because they saw how I completely emptied my tank to help us win. Coco [Courtney from Team Red] also told me that she tries to go to that mental state I was in to channel that mindset and energy when she's working hard at something.

I have so much love and respect for each of the competitors; I think that we've all inspired one another in different ways!

Watch all the action on Canada's Ultimate Challenge free on CBC Gem.