Video: Olympic kitesurfer rescues drowning woman in Brazil

Brazilian Olympic kitesurfer Bruno Lobo has saved a drowning woman off the coast of São Luís, Brazil, using his kiteboarding equipment to bring her to safety. Lobo, an orthopaedic doctor specialising in knee surgery, was testing a new kiteboarding camera on Friday (10 January 2025) when he heard the woman’s cries for help.
The incident, captured on Lobo’s new camera, shows the Olympian turning his kiteboard towards the woman, who swam towards him and climbed onto his back as he steadied the kite. Together, they headed for shore, where two lifeguards entered the water to lift the woman from the water.
In an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Lobo described the incident: “I went out at 5.40pm to conduct the final test on the camera,” he writes in Portuguese. “It was a cloudy day, and the wind conditions were less than ideal, but I decided to try out the newly arrived support equipment. It was my first time using this material, so I set the camera to record and headed towards the coast.”
“After sailing just a few metres, I heard a cry for help and spotted a girl who was drowning. I quickly manoeuvred the kite to approach her, tried to calm her down, and encouraged her to climb onto my back. She was extremely exhausted and weak. Using the equipment, I brought her safely to the beach, where lifeguards provided first aid on the shore. Thankfully, everything turned out well.”
Speaking in his self-filmed 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 seventh in the Men’s Kite event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.