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Kitesurfing didn’t make that many headlines when the sport debuted at the Olympics in Paris over the summer. However, an athlete who represented Brazil managed to do so after rescuing a drowning woman while testing out some new equipment earlier this month.
Breakdancing was obviously the most memorable event to appear at the Summer Olympics for the first time in 2024 thanks to the Australian sensation known as “Ray Gun,” but it was one of a handful of sports that were welcomed into the fold when athletes flocked to France for the international competition.
The list of newcomers included kitesurfing (also known as kiteboarding)—specifically the “Formula Kite” variety that fell under the sailing umbrella with a men’s category that featured 20 athletes from the same number of countries going head-to-head in the waters off the coast of Marseille in August.
Competitors were scheduled to compete in 16 preliminary races to determine who earned a spot in the semifinals before suboptimal wind speeds cut that number to eight. Bruno Lobo of Brazil was one of the ten men who qualified for the semifinals, but he was left on the outside looking in when the field was narrowed to four for the finals where Valentin Bontus of Austria earned the gold.
According to a post that appeared on Lobo’s Instagram on Saturday, the Olympian was filming himself while testing out some new gear off the coast of his native country on January 10th when he skimmed past a swimmer who was struggling to stay afloat in the water.
The clip shows him swiftly circling back before jumping off his board and having her climb onto his back. He was subsequently able to paddle over to the discarded equipment with the “tired and powerless” young woman in tow and use it as a flotation device to make it back to shore where she received first aid and thankfully walked away largely unscathed.
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