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Pass It On®
Superheroes Do Fly … Sometimes!
Olympic kitesurfer Bruno Lobo swoops in to save a drowning woman.By The Foundation for a Better Life
Kitesurfers seem to defy gravity. They skim along the troughs of waves and jet off the crests, seemingly weightless and birdlike. Tethered to a parasol arching 40 feet above them, they shift directions, glide, carve through the water and float through the air.
The sport requires more than steely nerves. The athleticism it requires to navigate the forces of wind and air simultaneously is almost superhuman. And for one man, his heroism seems almost superhuman, too.
Bruno Lobo has been kitesurfing for 15 years. Before that, he was a champion swimmer and triathlete, and he is an orthopedic surgeon. In 2016 and 2023, he won Olympic gold in kitesurfing, and he holds six Brazilian titles.
On a training day marked by a few gray clouds and some blustery winds beneath them, Lobo went into the ocean off the coast of Sao Luis, Brazil, to test a new camera. The winds swirled a bit, and gusts were moving away from the beach.
“After sailing a few meters, I heard a cry for help and looked at the girl who was drowning,” he explained in a post on Instagram, which was accompanied by a video of the incident. “I promptly approached her with the kite, tried to calm her down and asked her to climb on my back (as) she was very tired and had no strength.”
Lobo used his equipment and experience as a swimmer and surfer to get the woman safely into the shallows, where lifeguards could assist. “I was very surprised at that moment to see someone at that level in the sea, and when I recognized that she was drowning, I promptly went in her direction to help,” he told CNN Sport.
CNN picked up the story, and Lobo found new fame. But instead of shining the spotlight on himself, Lobo used the opportunity to educate people about the dangers of watersports, the currents, the changing weather.
Professional athletes make swimming, sailing or surfing look easy. We forget how many hours they have spent learning their craft in measured progressions that always weigh the risks. It’s a valuable lesson that each of us can apply to our own lives: knowing our limits and adopting a little humility.
There’s no need to compare ourselves to others or try to measure up to someone else’s accomplishments. And it’s also wise to think before we dive into unfamiliar currents. A little caution goes a long way.
Life can be as wonderful as a relaxing day at the beach, as spectacular as the view of waves and sunset coming together in our world’s great daily masterpieces. But when we get into water over our heads, it’s nice to know there are people like Lobo who see our struggle and pull us ashore.
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Copyright ©2025 The Foundation for a Better Life. All rights reserved. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (international): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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