LITTLE LEGEND
Mila Guerrero, 12, who rescued two drowning tourists at Lorne, has been nominated for a national award.
YEARS of nippers training came to the fore when schoolgirl Mila Guerrero, 11, saved the lives of two tourists struggling in the sea off Lorne beach.
Now her bravery and clear head in a crisis are being recognised with a Pride of Australia Medal nomination.
The Grade 6 Christian College student was enjoying surfing when she saw two 25-yearold holiday-makers caught in a rip earlier this year.
“Their heads kept going under then coming back up,” Mila said. “I didn’t really take much time to think about it. I just ran at them trying not to fall over my leg rope.
“We did a little bit about (rescues) at nippers and I watched the older kids do it, but the rest of it was almost just a reflex, an instinct.”
With her surf lifesaving training front of mind, Mila paddled fearlessly toward the two swimmers and instructed them to hold onto her board.
She pulled them out of the water one at a time, quickly realising the extent of their stress and struggle.
“(One) had a sickening colour, (her face) was nearly fully wiped of colour and she was really tired and it was very hard to get her onto my board,” Mila said. “I knew that if I was any longer we probably would have lost one, so I paddled harder and harder trying to get to the sand as smoothly as I could.”
Choppy conditions and relentless waves threatened to derail the rescue and put all three in danger. “The waves came crashing down on me . . . the board tipped over and I fell off but made sure that they were OK and that they didn’t go under again,” she said.
Mila kept paddling until she reached the shore where surf lifesavers took over caring for and assessing the swimmers.
Relieved but shaken, it was then the scale of her actions started to set in.
“Just before I left, one thanked me with tears rolling down her face,” Mila said.
Over the next few days, she replayed the event over and over in her head.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Mila said. “I kept thinking about how I could have done it better and I didn’t do it well enough and I shouldn’t have let the board flip, but my Mum kept saying, ‘If you weren’t there they would have died’, so I just tried to keep that as my top thought.”
Mila, now 12, said it had increased her awareness of water safety and her determination to get more kids into nippers.
“I’m not nervous (in the water) but I am definitely more alert,” she said.
“It’s so important for kids to do nippers and grow up on the water so if that ever happens to them they think, ‘I know what to do’.”
The youngster’s selfless actions have seen her nominated for a Pride of Australia Medal.
The News Corporation initiative aims to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution and achievements of everyday Australians.
This year’s awards are not categorised but will instead seek to recognise eight of the best unsung community leaders in each state.
For more information, or to nominate someone, visit prideofaustralia.com.au
“I didn’t really take much time to think about it. I just ran at them trying not to fall over my leg rope.”
MILA GUERRERO ( pictured)