Shark attack hero assumes Iron Series top billing
Murray Wenzel |
Iron Series top seed Charlie Verco will begin the season with a renewed appreciation for his sport after the lifesaver literally rescued a shark attack victim.
With defending champion Ali Day retired, runner-up Verco will assume the No.1 ranking in just his second full campaign when October’s Coolangatta Gold opens the season.
It’s been an eventful winter for the 25-year-old.
He won his fourth consecutive Paddleboard World Championship – in record time – in July, a month after saving Leah Stewart at Coogee Beach while training for the 52km Hawaiian event.
Verco paddled towards the danger and pulled the unconscious mother from the surf.
After 12 days in a critical condition in hospital and a series of surgeries to amputate her arm, she woke from an induced coma and was reunited with her daughter.
“I was able to help get her to shore, where people also from a surf lifesaving background were able to contribute and save her life so she could go home and see her daughter,” Verco said.
“That was a pretty perfect demonstration of how valuable the skills are that you get from surf lifesaving.
“You’re confronted with … managing high stress environments and how you can actually help.
“First aid … confidence in the ocean, so that you feel comfortable out there and able to focus on helping others and sport … it teaches you how to remain composed in pretty high-stress situations.”
Verco knew how to keep her head out of the water while coming to shore, how to carry her safely and to take her to the dry sand, rather than wet, in case she had to be defibrillated.
“All of that just happened subconsciously; we didn’t have to communicate with each other, we just knew. That’s a perfect demonstration of why I’m so grateful for the surf lifesaving community,” he said.
Verco will bring that composure to the start line this year in a wide-open field missing six-time series winner and 11-time Coolangatta Gold champion Day.
“He’s been doing it forever and been winning forever … a perfect character to represent the sport and we’re sad to see him go,” Verco said.
“But it was pretty special that in my first-ever full series that I was able … watch him win and stand on the podium next to him and watch all of his fans adore him and celebrate him.”
With surf lifesaving bidding to become an Olympic sport at Brisbane’s 2032 Games, organisers have made several key tweaks to the format.
Surfers Paradise will return to the program for the first time since 2019 when the Gold Coast beach hosts the finals weekend on February 6-7.
A Tugun Beach trial weekend will offer 21 spots for men and women to join the 12 pre-qualified athletes on the start line in round one, increasing the overall field by 12 – to 68 – this season.
And the 10th lowest-placing men and women in the Gold will be forced into a new repecharge round, held on Friday before round two, fighting for just four spots to remain in the Series.
IRON SERIES SCHEDULE
* September 19-20 – Iron Series Trial, Tugun Beach
* October 17 – Round 1, Coolangatta Gold
* November 14, 15 – Rounds 2-3, Thirroul (Enduro, Super Sprint)
* January 9-10 – Rounds 4-5, Newcastle (Specialist, Eliminator)
* February 6-7 – Round 6-7, Surfers Paradise (Super Sprint, Grand Eliminator)
AAP