Steven Bradbury Went Into ‘Olympic Mode’ To Heroically Rescue 4 Teenage Girls From Drowning

Aug 28, 2023 by apost team

Steven Bradbury is a former short-track speed skater and a four-time Olympian. Although the Australian is known for his athletic prowess, he is also famous for winning the most unexpected gold medal in history. Bradbury earned this title after the 1,000m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, during which his opponents were involved in a last-corner pile-up. Winning the gold medal at that event placed his name in the record books, making him the first Australian and Southern Hemisphere athlete to win a Winter Olympic gold medal.

Bradbury’s first stint representing Australia was at the 1991 World Championships in Sydney, where he was part of the quartet that represented the country. At the end of the event, the quartet came out victorious, and he won the 5,000m relay, making it Australia’s first world championship in a winter sport.

Bradbury’s foray into being an Olympian started in the 1992 Winter Olympics when he was selected as part of the reserves for the Australian short track team but wasn’t selected to represent the country in any Individual events. In the 1994 Winter Olympics, Bradbury was part of the short-track relay team that clinched the bronze medal at their event, winning Australia’s first Winter Olympic medal. 

In all three Winter Olympic appearances after his first, Bradbury participated in individual events, but it wasn't until the 2002 Winter Olympics that he got his first medal in an individual event. As a result of his unlikely win at the event, the former skater made headlines worldwide for his feat. 

Once again, Bradbury has made headlines for saving four drowning girls in the waters of Happy Valley, Caloundra, Australia, in March 2022. Over one year later, his act of bravery was recognized for commendation by the Australian Government on Aug. 22, 2023.

Twice in his lifetime, Bradbury has made the news for extraordinary feats, the most recent of which was his act of bravery in saving four teenage girls from drowning. In a chat with ABC Brisbane, the four-time Olympian relayed the event that took place on that fateful day.

Bradbury was out teaching his son Flyn surfing lessons when he spotted what he thought was a log in the sea. On second glance, he discovered it was, in fact, a human being. Bradbury swiftly went into action, grabbing a surfboard and instructing his son to alert the lifeguard.

"I thought there was no way someone should be swimming out there," he said.

Once Bradbury was out there, he noticed that there were three more people in deeper parts of the water. Knowing he couldn’t save all of them at once, Bradbury paddled the first girl to safety and was joined by the lifeguards in rescuing the other three. He explained:

"They plucked two out of the water, I got the third one and paddled her in and the emergency from there was over. But it was about five or six minutes of maximum intensity."

Bradbury credited his mastery of the water and the alertness of his Olympic mode for helping him save the girls.

"It was kind of nice to know that under extreme circumstances, that I could still go back into what I call Olympic mode, even though I'm not as fit and a little older than I used to be," he said.

Needless to say, the girls were grateful to Bradbury for saving their lives. Besides their show of gratitude on the day of the event, one of the girls relayed her appreciation to the Olympian on Sky News Australia.

“We will be forever grateful for saving our lives,” she said. 

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