‘There was a lot of blood in the water’: paddleboarder rescues woman after ‘shocking’ Coogee shark attack

Charlie Verco rescued a woman from a shark attack at Sydney's Coogee beach on Saturday, June 14, 2026. Verco, an elite paddleboarder training for the world championships in Hawaii, heard a swimmer shout "shark" and witnessed the attack. He immediately paddled towards the commotion and managed to grab the woman, bringing her back to shore. Verco described the scene as having "a lot of blood in the water" and stated he had only seen one larger shark previously. The incident occurred while Verco was engaged in his training regimen on Saturday morning.