Australian radio hosts have questioned whether shark attack survivor Leah Stewart had enough time to think through her actions during the mauling that cost her her left arm at Sydney’s Coogee Beach.
Ms Stewart, 35, described the attack during an interview with Nine’s 60 Minutes broadcast on Sunday, August 30, saying she thought about her one-year-old daughter, August, before deciding which arm she was prepared to lose.
She said she was confronted by the four-metre shark while swimming close to shore and between the beach’s safety flags on June 13. As it dragged her underwater, she recalled seeing its “black little beady eyes” and punching it repeatedly in the face.
But Melbourne presenters Brendan Fevola, Kate Langbroek and Nick Cody questioned the detail of her account during their programme on 101.9 The Fox on Tuesday.
“If a shark was attacking you, you wouldn’t have much time to think,” Fevola said. Langbroek replied that most people who survived such an attack said they did not even know what was happening.
After replaying part of Ms Stewart’s interview, Fevola said he had watched it with his wife and thought: “She’s lying! Too much time to think!”
“You’re not thinking all that, are you?” he said, later adding: “You punched a shark in the face and survived – but you’re not thinking all that. That’s a lot of mayo.”
Langbroek attempted to defend Ms Stewart, warning that they could not know how a person might respond in a life-threatening situation. She also pointed to professional surfer Mick Fanning, who said he had reacted instinctively when he was confronted by a shark during a competition.
Ms Stewart told 60 Minutes that time appeared to slow down as the shark approached. She said she was right-handed and decided to use her left arm because it was the limb she was more willing to lose.
The attack caused extensive injuries to her arms and legs and extreme blood loss. She was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital after being brought to shore by off-duty lifeguard and paddleboarder Charlie Verco, who had been training nearby.
Off-duty medical workers and lifeguards treated her on the beach, applying tourniquets before she was taken to hospital. Ms Stewart was later placed in a medically induced coma for 10 days and underwent several operations, including the amputation of her left arm. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-13/woman-injured-after-shark-attack-sydney-coogee-beach/106794390?utm_source=openai))
She said she was still adjusting to life with the disability and found it particularly difficult when August wanted to be picked up.
“There’s good days and bad days. For me, I’m still coming to terms that my arm’s not there,” she said.
Ms Stewart said she was trying to concentrate on small achievements during her recovery, including being able to brush her own teeth again.
