A talented young Sunshine Coast ironman has been lauded for saving a star of the sport during a renowned carnival.
Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club’s Olly Monaghan cast away his title ambitions to “help a mate” during the Maroochy Surf Classic on Friday.
The 21-year-old was winning the first heat of the open ironman event, amid blustery conditions, when he collided with the Gold Coast’s Zach Morris, an elite Nutri-Grain Series contender.
“He hit his head on my board,” Monaghan said.
“He was holding his head and he couldn’t really move, so I got him on my board and paddled to shore.”
They were met by fellow lifesavers and medical officials, and Morris was placed on a spinal stretcher and in a neck brace before he was taken to hospital.
Monaghan said he had no hesitation in giving up his race to help another competitor.
“That’s what it (surf lifesaving) is all about,” he said.
“At the end of the day we’re volunteer lifesavers and that’s how it should be – you sacrifice your race to help out a mate.”
Monaghan, who started learning surf skills as a five-year-old, has taken part in multiple rescues at Maroochydore but said “this was a bit different”.
“My heart rate was already up around 200 because I was going max, and there were waves and people racing around me, and it was windy and we were getting blown towards another racing arena,” he said.
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Morris, a star of Northcliffe Surf Life Saving Club, was back at the beach the next day, but not racing.
He told Sunshine Coast News the incident “was just an accident”.
“The nose of the board went straight into the back of my head and my upper neck,” he said.
“For a minute, I was just laying there and I grabbed my neck.
“At first, I was a bit worried but I managed to get on Olly’s board so I knew that everything was sort of all right with the rest of my body, but I was worried about the head knock.
“There have been incidents in the surf where people have passed away from head knocks.”
He commended Monaghan and was unsurprised by his actions.
“Olly’s a nice kid. He would have stopped no matter what. It’s just who he is,” he said.
“I’m glad he stopped and helped me to shore.”
Morris, 21, was back at work on Monday and he said that he was recovering with hopes of competing in the next round of the Nutri-Grain Series at Kuurawa this weekend.
“Getting a board to the back of the head is not fun but I’m pretty lucky I have come out of it the way I have,” he said.
Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club surf sports director Danny Short applauded Monaghan for his efforts.
“It was very serious. It was potentially a spinal injury,” he said.
“Zach got a blow to the back of the head and was lucky Olly was there.
“There was no second guessing from Olly. He was leading the race but chose to give up the race to more or less save Zach.
“That’s a big thing if his first response is to do that: it’s a good sign.”
Short said the competitors were surf lifesavers first.
“They have that ability and capability to deal with a situation like that, from a response perspective and from a first aid perspective,” he said.
“If you’re going to have some sort of incident, you do it around 700 of the best lifesavers in the world, and in that particular race there were some of the best ironmen we’ve seen,” he said.
The long-running Maroochy Surf Classic attracted competitors from around the country and this year’s edition was dubbed “the biggest yet”.
The carnival is part of the Summer of Surf series, which boasts significant prizemoney.
Maroochydore club member Tiarnee Massie won the ironwoman event to the delight of locals.
Monaghan was fifth in the men’s ski event.
The 2022 Australian under-19 ironman champion hopes to race at the top level.
“I want to make the Nutri-Grain Series, that’s my main goal,” he said.
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