An Olympic kitesurfer heroically rescued a teenage girl from drowning on the shores of a beach in Brazil.
Bruno Lobo, who represented Brazil at the Paris 2024 Summer Games, was testing his camera while kitesurfing at Praia do Olho in São Luis, Maranhão, on Friday when he saw 15-year-old Maria Duarte in danger.
Footage showed the 31-year-old man turning around and heading toward Duarte, who was struggling to stay afloat in the choppy waters.
Lobo, who is also an orthopedic surgeon, abandoned his board and swam toward Duarte, who grabbed him by the back.
He guided them back to the board while the teen kept her arms around his neck.
Lobo then used his kite to carry them toward shore before a lifeguard approached.
Duarte was taken to the sand, where lifeguards gave him first aid.
'I only did what had to be done and what was within my power!' Lobo said in a post on his Instagram account featuring the video.
María Duarte, 15, hugs Olympic kitesurfer Bruno Lobo after he rescued her from drowning in the city of São Luis.
Brazilian Olympic kitesurfer Bruno Lobo said he was testing a new camera when it sprang into action.
On Monday, Lobo and Duarte were reunited in a special ceremony.
The kitesurfer received the Alferes Moraes Souto Medal, the highest decoration awarded by the Maranhão Military Fire Department.
Duarte recalled praying for someone to rescue her from being swept away.
“At that moment I asked God and he was an angel in my life,” Duarte said in a video posted by Maranhão Governor Carlos Brandão on Instagram.
And I am very grateful to him. I didn't know the sea and the challenge.
“The sea is treacherous and cannot be challenged.”
Lobo explained that he was moved by the attention he received for rescuing Duarte.
“This moment of saving a life through sport was very overwhelming and without a doubt it is my greatest trophy and my greatest achievement,” said Lobo.
'At that moment I asked God and he was an angel in my life,' Duarte said of his savior
María Duarte (left) met Brazilian kitesurfer Bruno Lobo (right) in a special ceremony on Monday. Lobo received the Ensign Moraes Souto, the highest decoration of the Maranhão Military Fire Department
María Duarte recalled struggling to stay afloat and praying to be rescued.
In addition to being the seventh kitesurfer in the world, Bruno Lobo is also an orthopedic surgeon.
Brazilian Bruno Lobo competes in the men's kitesurfing event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
'Seeing María Eduardo here healthy and able to tell this story. God sent me at that moment, in that place to save his life when he needed it most.'
Lobo lost to Italian kitesurfer Riccardo Pianosi in the semi-finals of the 2024 Olympics and finished seventh overall.
It was the first time since the 1992 Olympics that Brazil failed to medal in the competition.
Lobo, currently ranked seventh in the world, won gold at the 2019 and 2023 Pan American Games and is a seven-time Brazilian Formula Kite champion.