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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n There\u2019s about 12 kilometres of coastline between Bondi and Maroubra beaches – a decent stretch of ocean for paddleboard world champion, Charlie Verco\u2019s training session.<\/p>\n So it was extraordinary luck that Verco, 24, found himself 80 metres from Coogee Beach as a large great white<\/a> stalked a group of women swimming nearby.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the women screamed, \u2018Shark!\u2019 and everyone started panicking,\u201d Verco said.<\/p>\n A handful of swimmers tried to pull themselves onto his 18-foot paddleboard to get out of the water, as Verco pushed them back.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to tell them, the shark was over there, near the women, I have to help them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI could see the shark only as a shadow at first, and it looked pretty big,\u201d Verco said. Its movements suggested it was more inquisitive than threatening at first. Verco hoped it had realised the women were not seals, and would move on.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the shark grabbed one of the women and started dragging her around \u2026 it was such an aggressive thing to watch happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As Verco paddled towards the woman, the shark broke the water\u2019s surface, exposing its body, dorsal fin and tail, and Verco was shocked by its size.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know if there was anything I could do, given the power and size of this shark,\u201d the ironman and three-time world paddleboard champion said.<\/p>\n As the shark pulled the woman underwater, Verco abandoned a fleeting thought of jumping in, remembering his father was about 100 metres away on his own paddleboard.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly couldn\u2019t fight off the shark once I realised how big it was, and I couldn\u2019t imagine doing that, and Dad having to watch me get attacked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Verco signalled to the lifeguards, raising his arms to form the \u2018X\u2019 code, hoping they would sound the shark alarm and send out a power craft.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I saw the woman\u2019s head pop up \u2026 the shark had let go of her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Verco paddled through the opaque blood-red water towards the woman, knowing the shark was still there, somewhere unseen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of the scariest things, not being able to see whether it would come at my board or her again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The woman was too weak to hold on to the nose of Verco\u2019s board, so he paddled back and had her grab onto his drink bottle cage fastened in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was too weak to get onto the board, and it\u2019s not a rescue craft or very agile \u2026 I didn\u2019t know how I could pull her up, or if I did, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to control it.\u201d<\/p>\n So Verco started paddling to shore. When the woman seemed to lose consciousness and let go of the cage, Verco paddled back to her again and grabbed her with one arm, towing her along as he paddled with his other arm, he said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI didn\u2019t even know her name … I just kept saying things like \u2018keep your head above water, keep breathing, you\u2019re doing a very good job\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cAnything to fill the silence and give her something to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n As they got close to shore, lifeguards and other beachgoers met the pair. Verco lifted the woman at the torso, and with a lifeguard holding her legs, they carried her to the sand.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very lucky that it was such a busy day at Coogee, and that there were so many people ready to go [to perform first aid],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n An off-duty critical care doctor, lifeguards, police and council personnel helped to stabilise the woman.<\/p>\n \u201cI put pressure on her left while they put tourniquets on her leg and arms. There were people more experienced than I was, so I could take a step back then,\u201d Verco said.<\/p>\n Taking a few deep breaths and with adrenaline pumping through him, Verco\u2019s thoughts turned to his Dad, still in the water.<\/p>\n His father had reached the shore and taken a jet ski back out to look for the shark. Verco recalls his father describing the massive white shark turning to face the jetski as it approached.<\/p>\n Speaking hours after the rescue, Verco said all he was thinking about was the woman in critical condition at St Vincent\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be all about her,\u201d he said. \u201cAll I feel is really bad for her and how unlucky she was. I hope she can pull through.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been more grateful for my education with the Surf Life Saving community and for North Bondi Surf Club, who trained me how to respond in emergency scenarios and know first aid and have the surf skills to help in dangerous situations that happen in the ocean,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Charlie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4b91e7ed54922c797126355d80c214ba23db9696.jpeg\")
Charlie Verco, 24, rescued a woman attacked by a 3-metre shark at Coogee Beach on Saturday,Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Drone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1e19ccca4255a6260616d689c0dc97603627b3668abe4120bf29aa88f26f79b3.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Charlie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4b714b28950cb173d0eb304629a011fd1a5c981.jpeg\")
Charlie Verco and bystanders pull the woman from the water at Coogee.TNV<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ace47a790f2893c9ac0c0877b9d3def28c4a909f78a2f2ddbc92e7d574f106bd.jpeg\")
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