Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old Australian woman, was mauled by a shark during a morning swim at Coogee Beach in June and suffered multiple bites to her arms and legs. She was placed in an induced coma and had several surgeries, including having one of her arms amputated. In an online post, Stewart thanked her supporters who raised over AU$550,000 for her recovery, stating that she feels like she's been given a "second chance at life" and will make the most of it. The attack was part of a spate of shark attacks in Australia this year, with four attacks occurring over a two-day period in January, including one fatal incident.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old Australian woman, was attacked by a suspected 3.5-metre great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach in Sydney on June 13th. The attack left her with life-threatening injuries, including bites to her arms and legs, and she was placed in a medically induced coma for nearly two weeks. One of her arms was later amputated as part of her recovery. Despite the challenges, Stewart has made remarkable progress, regaining some independence and even expressing gratitude for being given a "second chance at life". Her family set up a GoFundMe page to support her rehabilitation, prosthetics, and ongoing medical treatment, which raised nearly A$559,000 (or £293,000). In a post on the page, Stewart thanked her supporters and expressed her determination not to waste this second chance, saying "I want you to know that I feel like I've been given a second chance at life, and I'm not going to waste it."
Written for “Shark Attack Survivor Story” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 2126 · logged 2026-08-27
- Published
An Australian woman bitten by a shark at a popular Sydney beach earlier this year says she has been given a "second chance at life" and will be making the most of it.
asserted
she → publish → it
Leah Stewart, 34, was mauled by a shark during a morning swim at Coogee Beach in June, suffering multiple bites to her arms and legs, amid a spate of attacks in Australia.
asserted
Stewart → maul → Australia
The mother-of-one was placed in an induced coma and had several surgeries, including having one of her arms amputated.
asserted
one → place → arms
In an online post on Monday, she thanked her supporters who have raised more than AU$550,000 (US$394,000; £289,000) for her, saying her recovery has been "incredibly difficult" but she is making "remarkable" progress.
"After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I'm so happy that I've progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this," Stewart wrote, in her first comments since the attack.
asserted
Stewart → thank → attack
"I want you to know that I feel like I've been given a second chance at life, and I'm not going to waste it."
asserted
I → want → it
Stewart said she had been "overwhelmed" by the support from family, friends and "even strangers", adding that the "you've inspired me to get better, not bitter".
asserted
you → say → me
An online fundraiser for her would now be closed, she wrote, with the money raised giving her the chance to recover at home as well as "options for further medical treatment down the road".
asserted
money → close → road
"I still have a long way to go, but my recovery has been remarkable, and a huge part of that is because of the absolute army of love, support, prayers and encouragement surrounding my family and I from all over the world."
asserted
part → go → world
In an interview with Nine Network's 60 Minutes, due to be aired this weekend, Stewart described seeing the shark's "horrific" face.
asserted
Stewart → air → face
"I'll never forget its face - it was a monster," she says.
asserted
she → forget → face
"It was holding onto my leg and I just thought of (my daughter) August, and I thought, 'she's not going to have a mum.
asserted
she → hold → mum
She's gonna grow up without a mum'.
asserted
She → go → mum
Fighting back tears, she goes on: "I couldn't handle that, I didn't want her to not have a mum.
asserted
her → fight → mum
I just thought, I've got to fight it, do everything I can to be here.
asserted
I → think → everything
There have been a spate of shark attacks in Australia this year, with four attacks over a two-day period in January, including one on a 12-year-old boy who later died from his injuries.
asserted
who → include → injuries
In May, a man was killed by a shark in Queensland while spearfishing and in Western Australia, a father-of-two died after he was attacked by a 4m (13ft) shark.
uncertain
he → kill → shark
