Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart describes how she willed herself back to life when she lay dying on Coogee Beach – and her first words to her mother when she woke from her coma
Leah Stewart, a 35-year-old teacher and mother from Sydney, has spoken publicly for the first time about surviving a great white shark attack at Coogee Beach on 13 June 2026, the first such attack there in over a century. Ms Stewart, who was swimming relatively close to shore, fought off the four-metre shark by punching it repeatedly after thinking of her one-year-old daughter, August, and refusing to let her "grow up without a mum." Her survival, and that of her willingness to recount the ordeal to Australian programme 60 Minutes, highlights both the rarity of the attack and the extraordinary chain of rescue that followed.
Ms Stewart was saved by a series of bystanders, including paddleboarder Charlie Verco, off-duty lifesaver Ben Heenan, doctor Kassandra McGregor and trauma specialist Dr Ian Ferguson, who used tourniquets and bone-marrow infusions to keep her alive after her blood loss made it impossible to find a vein. She spent ten days in a coma at St Vincent's Hospital and underwent 11 surgeries, resulting in the amputation of her left arm, before waking on 23 June with her mother, Christine, and partner, Fernando, by her side. Her first words upon regaining consciousness were "I love you," spoken to her mother.
- Leah Stewart survived a rare great white shark attack at Coogee Beach
- She fought the shark off while thinking of her baby daughter
- Bystanders' quick action and 11 surgeries saved her life; she lost her left arm
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Leah Stewart, 35, is a schoolteacher and mother from Sydney who was attacked by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach on 13 June 2026. The attack, in which she fought off the four-metre shark, was notable partly because such attacks are extremely rare at that particular beach, which had not seen one in more than a hundred years.
Ms Stewart survived only because of a chain of people who helped her in the immediate aftermath, including a paddleboarder, an off-duty lifesaver and medical staff, who worked to stop severe blood loss before she reached hospital. She then spent time in a coma at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney and underwent multiple operations, including the amputation of her left arm.
The story matters both as an account of a rare and severe shark attack and as an example of how quick action by bystanders and medical teams can determine survival in such emergencies. Ms Stewart has since chosen to speak publicly about her experience, including to the Australian television programme 60 Minutes, giving her own perspective on the attack, her recovery and its effect on her and her family.