Mikey Wright Heroically Saves Swimmer Caught in Ocean Current

Pro surfer Mikey Wright recently showed off his lifesaving skills in Hawaii. He saw someone caught in a strong current and then raced to the rescue. Wright pulled the person out of the water and saved them from being swept away.

An Instagram video, which Wright originally filmed, showed a person struggling in the water while other people tried to help them get to safety. The surfer said that the person would “need to get saved.” He then told a companion to hold the camera, prompting a response of “you can’t save him.” Wright then jumped a fence and ran to the ocean. He fought through the crashing waves, reached the individual and then carried them back to shore.

Saving the person was not an easy task, as the video showed. The waves pulled Wright under multiple times, but he continued pushing through and got his arms around the swimmer. Once he got the person back to shore, other people raced in and helped ensure their safety.

“Closing out 2020 with some hero s— by [Mikey Wright],” wrote the surfer’s sister, Tyler Wright. He also posted the video on his own Instagram profile, writing “Hold my beer.” Several people responded in the comments by applauding Wright’s quick actions. Others said that his mullet had some magic powers and that it worked better than a superhero’s cape.

Following the rescue, Wright conducted an interview with the BBC and talked about using his skills to save someone’s life. “We were literally just sitting up here on our backyard, and we had seen this lady getting swept off her feet,” he said. “It straight away clicked that, ‘hey, she’s actually going to be in a serious bit of danger here.”

Wright said that he got close to the swimmer and that he told her to go toward him instead of the ocean. He knew that there were rocks in one direction that would cause issues but that the beach was sandy over by him. Both he and the swimmer still suffered minor scratches during the incident but managed to avoid serious injuries.

“For the situation we were in, we both came out pretty unscathed,” Wright explained. “At the end of the day, she’s safe now. And to see how thankful she was and to see her son — her son came running down the beach — at the time I didn’t know it was her son. He just latched onto me and was just hugging me and didn’t let go for a minute.”

Wright and Tyler were both in Hawaii to compete in the 50th running of the Pipe Masters. They made history by becoming the first brother-sister duo to compete at the long-running competition. Wright finished 17th in the men’s division while Tyler finished first in the women’s division.