Months after a morning swim at Coogee Beach became a fight for survival, Coogee shark survivor Leah Stewart has begun telling her own story, focusing on her daughter, the people who brought her ashore and the support that has continued through her recovery.
Coogee Shark Survivor Recounts Her Fight To Survive
Stewart was swimming near shore and between the flags at Coogee Beach on 13 June when another swimmer’s scream alerted her to a shark in the water.
The great white, estimated at about four metres long, came to within about 30 centimetres of her face. Stewart, who is right-handed, decided to use her left arm to strike it.
That arm was badly injured during the attack and was later amputated. The shark also tore muscle from her left thigh, while her right hand sustained serious nerve and tendon damage.
After the shark seized her leg and pulled her underwater, Stewart’s thoughts turned to her daughter August. She continued fighting and repeatedly struck the shark before it released her.
Rescuers Respond At Coogee Beach
The emergency response involved several people who were at or near Coogee Beach that morning.
World champion paddleboarder Charlie Verco entered the water to help Stewart, while Ben Heenan, then president of Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, responded with a board.
Heenan had been swimming with his partner, doctor Kassandra McGregor, who called Triple Zero. Trauma specialist Dr Ian Ferguson was also nearby and joined the emergency response after Stewart was brought ashore.
Severe blood loss made it impossible to find a vein, so Ferguson accessed the bone marrow in both of Stewart’s shoulders to allow fluids and later blood to be administered. Police officers who were at the beach also assisted.
Stewart has since publicly thanked Verco and Heenan and credited the wider group of people who stepped forward during the emergency with helping keep her alive.
Support Continues Through Recovery
Stewart was taken to hospital in a critical condition and underwent 11 operations, including skin grafts for the wound to her thigh.
After about 10 days in a coma, she woke already aware that she had lost her arm. Rehabilitation has since included learning to walk again, improving the use of her injured right hand and learning to write again.
Support also came from outside the hospital.
Stewart has described mothers providing baby essentials, friends preparing meals and people sending flowers, photographs, care packages and messages during her recovery. Thousands of people also donated to and shared a GoFundMe campaign supporting her family.
She later met some of the people who had helped during the emergency again at Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club, where the circumstances were very different from their first encounter.
Returning To Coogee
Stewart has also returned to Coogee Beach since leaving hospital.
Before the attack, swimming there had been part of her regular routine and a way to relax. She has since said she may eventually return to the water, although she was not ready to swim again when discussing her recovery.
Speaking publicly has become another part of that process. Stewart said the incident had already become widely known before she was able to give her own account, and she later described sharing her experience as helping with the healing process.
Her rehabilitation is continuing. In her recent reflections, Stewart has focused on gratitude for the people who helped her on the beach and the wider network that supported her family afterwards, while expressing a desire to pass that support forward.
Published 1-September-2026
