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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Donna Lu

An ‘amazing feat’: how was 13-year-old Austin Appelbee able to swim for four hours to save his family?

Austin Appelbee (right) and his brother Beau, mother Joanne and sister Grace (left to right)
‘I was very puffed out but I couldn’t feel how tired I was’: 13-year-old Austin Appelbee, right, was initially wearing a lifejacket but ditched it about two hours into his four-hour swim to shore. Photograph: Briana Shepherd/ABC News

An Australian 13-year-old who swam 4km (2.49 miles) to shore and then ran 2km (1.24 miles) to get help for his stranded family has been described as “superhuman”.

Experts say Austin Appelbee’s feat of endurance exceeded the limits of what is normally perceived as possible. So how was the teenager able to save the day, and is there any precedent for it?

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