Three time Coolangatta Gold champ Ali Day rescues Japanese tourist on Gold Coast

IRONMAN Ali Day couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a Japanese tourist struggling to stay afloat about 200m off Surfers Paradise.

Surfers Paradise SLSC ironman Ali Day was out training on Friday at Surfers Paradise beach when he found a swimmer out near the shark nets in struggling to stay afloat. Photo: David Clark

IRONMAN Ali Day couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a Japanese tourist struggling to stay afloat about 200m off Surfers Paradise.

The man in his 20s could not have been in better hands when the three-time Coolangatta Gold champion heard his rasping screams on Friday afternoon during a board paddle.

Day, 26, was surprised to see the man bobbing in the water, exhausted after being sucked out by a rip.

Surfers Paradise SLSC ironman Ali Day was out training on Friday at Surfers Paradise beach when he found a swimmer out near the shark nets in struggling to stay afloat. Photo: David Clark

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God.

“What are you doing out here?’ ” Day recalled.

He paddled 100m to the man as quickly as he could.

“He had one hand up and his head was bobbing up and down but I knew I was going to get to him,” Day said.

The seriousness of the situation hit home for Day when he hauled the exhausted man onto his board.

“Then I went into this state of, ‘I hope I get him to shore’. He wasn’t in a good way.

“I was yelling at him and slapping him on the back, telling him to stay awake.

“(My board’s) not one of the lifeguard boards – that was one of the hardest things, I reckon.”

It took about five minutes to get the man to shore in what he called the most serious rescue he had performed.

Surfers Paradise SLSC ironman Ali Day was out training on Friday at Surfers Paradise beach when he found a swimmer out near the shark nets in struggling to stay afloat. Photo: David Clark

Day was met by fellow Surfers Paradise lifesavers Zac Orchard and Zayne Hamill and on-duty lifeguards who had cleared the beach and had resuscitation machines ready.

“It feels funny talking about it – the lifeguards do this sort of thing all the time,” Day said.

“I can get them in (to the beach) but that’s when the other guys took over.”

The tourist was taken conscious and stable to Gold Coast University Hospital.

Knowing the man would be OK, Mr Hamill, also Day’s coach, told him to finish his training session.

Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club president and former surf lifesaving champion Trevor Hendy said the rescue was what any clubbie would do.