Pro surfer Mikey Wright, brother of two-time world champion Tyler Wright, was involved in a dramatic surf rescue on Oahu’s North Shore on New Year’s Eve.
In a video posted to Instagram, Wright, who was in Hawaii following the Pipe Masters contest, can be seen rushing into the heavy surf at Ke Iki beach to help a person getting swept away by the strong current.
Initially, Wright was the one filming bystanders trying to help the swimmer before realizing he needed to step in himself.
“He’s gonna need to get saved,” Mikey said before handing the phone off to his wife, Shenay.
“You can’t save him,” she can be heard yelling, as he sprints down onto the beach.
Wright’s sister, Tyler, who just won the Maui Pro at Pipeline, can also be seen running down the beach to help.
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The second video shows the dramatic rescue play out. Mikey Wright goes over the rocks into the water to help the woman, letting her hold onto him as the heavy surf and strong current submerges them into the water again and again. The pair make it down the beach before Tyler and other bystanders are finally able to help the two out of the water.
“She was trying to come in (over the rocks) and I said ‘we have to go down the beach’, Wright told Australia’s Daily Telegraph.“We ended up grabbing a hold of her and going down with the current. I just said to her ‘don’t let go and hold on’.”
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The video has since gone viral, making the 24-year-old Australian surfer, known for his signature mullet, something of a hero.
“Wow that could of ended really bad!! Well done,” surfer Mick Fanning wrote on Instagram.
“Closing out 2020 with some hero s**t by @mikeywright69,” Tyler posted.
The woman and Wright both escaped serious injury.
“At the end of the day she is safe and I only have a few scratches on my back,” Wright said.