Paddleboarder who rescued woman from Coogee shark attack wins world title in record time

The 25-year-old crossed the line in the gruelling 52km Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard race in 4 hours, 18 minutes and 3 seconds on Sunday, eclipsing the previous mark set by fellow Australian Matt Bevilacqua in 2019 by three minutes.

Verco’s record time is the culmination of years of dominance in the event.

Yet it was an achievement that he did not take for granted.

“I’m so stoked,” Verco said after traversing the ocean linking two of Hawaii’s islands.

“It’s always a challenge getting across the channel and each year it dishes up something different.” In June, as Verco prepared for the event, one of his training sessions off Coogee beach was interrupted by cries of help from Leah Stewart, who had been bitten by a shark.

Verco, a trained surf life saver, paddled her to shore as she lost consciousness.

Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher with a young daughter, survived and had five surgeries in the days that followed, including an arm amputation.

“The shark surfaced, I saw its dorsal fin – it was big, about 3.5 metres,” Verco told Guardian Australia at the time .

“I’ve only ever seen one shark bigger than that, and that was a tiger shark in Hawaii.” Verco said Stewart disappeared and then reappeared and he managed to help her to grab hold of part of his board as he paddled.

“I had to try and keep hold of her with one hand and keep paddling towards shore with the other.” The 27th running of the Molokai race, the world championships of paddleboarding, was more straightforward.

Verco finished almost 50 minutes ahead of second place in the “unlimited” paddleboard class of the event, which is widely considered to be the ultimate test in open-water paddling.