Girl Bitten by Shark... Miracle Victory at US Swimming Competition After Rehabilitation

"Every Adversity Was Motivation to Focus on Swimming"

A teenage girl from the United States who suffered severe injuries from a shark bite won first place at a local swimming competition after completing rehabilitation.

According to recent reports from local Wisconsin media 'TMJ4' and other foreign outlets, Lucy Art (18) won the under-24 50-yard (approximately 46m) freestyle event at the Wisconsin State Swimming Championships.

Lucy Art, who was attacked by a shark while playing in the water at a beach in Florida, USA. Photo by TMJ4, Twitter screenshot.

Earlier, about 20 months before the competition, Lucy was attacked by a shark at a beach in Florida in March of last year. At the time, Lucy was playing in the water with her cousins when a black shark bit her wrist and leg.

Lucy succeeded in driving the shark away, but she had already sustained serious injuries, including severed tendons in her wrist. The shark's teeth marks were clearly visible on her leg, and there was also a risk of infection from bacteria and other sources.

Lucy was quickly transported to the hospital. She recalled, "I lost so much blood that I couldn't even walk to the ambulance," and "I was scared the entire way to the hospital that I might lose my hand."

After undergoing surgery to stitch the torn areas, Lucy began a long period of physical therapy and rehabilitation training. She said, "I didn't think my hand would ever move like it used to," and "I wasn't sure if I would be able to swim again, and it didn't seem like my condition was improving."

Although it was difficult to train for swimming due to her injuries, she did not lose her determination and devoted herself to training, gradually improving her times. In the preliminary round of the competition held last month, she set a personal record of 23.45 seconds, and in the finals, she improved by an additional 0.08 seconds, winning first place with a time of 23.37 seconds.

In an interview after her victory, Lucy said, "Since being attacked by the shark, I have only been to the ocean once, and it was tough," and "When I was undergoing rehabilitation, I never thought I would swim in college. But looking back now, all these hardships became the motivation for me to swim harder."