A Sydney woman who survived a shark attack has detailed how she repeatedly punched a great white shark, estimated to be four meters long, when it attacked her at Coogee Beach in June. Leah Stewart, 34, was swimming when the shark bit into her thigh and arms, causing severe blood loss and injuries that led to the amputation of her left arm.
Stewart recounted that in the moments before the attack, she heard a shriek and saw a large fin behind another swimmer. Realizing it was a shark, she turned and found herself face-to-face with the animal. "We were looking face-to-face," Stewart said, noting the shark was as close as 30 centimeters to her. The shark's appearance was described as "horrific" with "black little beady eyes" and a "massive" mouth with large teeth.
Stewart said that as the shark bit her forearm and leg, pulling her underwater, she thought she was going to die. However, the thought of her young daughter, August, motivated her to fight back. "In my head, I was like, ... 'You are not taking me away from my daughter'," she said in an interview. She described the struggle as "like punching a brick wall" but continued to punch the shark.
She believes she landed a significant blow that caused the shark to release her, allowing her to fight her way back to shore. Other swimmers helped pull her from the water and she was taken to a hospital. She underwent nearly a dozen surgeries and was placed in an induced coma. Despite the traumatic experience, Stewart stated she wants to be known as "the woman that punched the shark in the face" rather than "a girl that got mauled on the beach."