Boy Swims Miles Through Shark-Infested Waters To Save His Family.

His Secret Is Easy

For a couple of years as a kid, I swam on a winter YMCA swim team. I hated the practices so much that I often begged my mom to let me skip. Sometimes, I’d purposefully leave my Speedo jammer at home in hopes I wouldn’t have to practice once I got to the pool.

If my memory serves me well, this gimmick backfired spectacularly one time, and I was forced to swim in my boxers.

Whenever the practice was hard and dragged on endlessly, and I was beginning to tire, I would imagine that a shark had swum into the pool’s drain system and was chasing me down from the deep end. This delusion pushed me to swim faster and harder, even if my arms felt like overcooked strings of pasta.

Thirteen-year-old Aussie, Austin Appelbee, found a very different motivation as he swam through the choppy, shark-infested waters of Western Australia to rescue his family.

Austin swam 4 km, roughly 2.5 miles, through choppy waves and strong currents. He kept thinking happy thoughts, praying, and focusing on his family until he made it to shore and called emergency services.

Austin’s heroic story reminds us that no matter what life throws at us, we can just keep swimming.