“I only did my duty” - Brazilian Olympic kitesurfer Bruno Lobo rescues drowning woman

Dr Lobo, who is also an orthopaedic doctor specialising in knee surgery, was testing a new kiteboarding camera early in the evening on Friday 10 January when he heard the woman’s cry for help. 

Capturing the incident live, Dr Lobo quickly turns the kiteboard towards the woman as she swims towards him and climbs onto him while he steadies himself with the kite.  

 

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A post shared by Bruno Lobo (@brunolobo31)

As the pair head for shore, two lifeguards run into the water to assist, lifting the woman out of the water as Dr Lobo brings his kiteboard ashore.  

In his Instagram post, Dr Lobo says: “I went in at 5:40 pm to do the last test on the camera, it was a cloudy day, wind conditions were not the best, but I decided to test the support that had arrived, it was the first day using this material, I put the camera to record and went towards the coast. 

“After sailing a few metres, I heard a cry for help and saw the girl who was drowning. I quickly approached her with the kite, tried to calm her down and asked her to climb on my back. She was very tired and without strength. I used the equipment to bring her to the beach safely, where the lifeguards carried out the first aid on the seashore and thankfully everything went well.” 

Speaking in his self-filmed Instagram video, Lobo said, “I only did my duty” and was “in the right place at the right time.”  

He also took the opportunity to remind people that “the sea is really very dangerous” and “the tide can pull you out to sea”. 

Lobo won the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru and defended his title at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. He finished 7th in the Men’s Kite event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.