Makai McNamara’s Near-Drowning: “Fighting for His Life”

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Feb 25, 2025 12:16 PM ET

On Sunday, amidst a pulse of pumping swell on the North Shore of Oahu, Makai McNamara, a local and regular charger on the Seven Mile Miracle, wiped out at Pipeline, hit his head on the reef, and was knocked unconscious. From there, surfers, lifeguards, and loved ones assembled to save his life.

Eli Olson, another North Shore native and familiar face on some of the heaviest waves every season, was one of the first surfers to get to Makai after he went down. Harrowing footage of the incident showed a horde of humans jumping into action, struggling through the impact zone with Makai’s body, and getting him to shore, where lifeguards literally brought him back to life on the sand.

Now, here’s Eli recounting what happened.

“Makai’s one of the best out there,” Eli said. “He’s so talented. It was just a bad wave, kind of a freak accident. He went headfirst into the reef.”

As the rescue began, here’s how Eli explained what went down:

“He was underwater for close to two minutes before I got to him. First thing, I just wanted to get his head above water. I gave him a couple breaths, tried to give him a couple compressions. We were getting hit by waves out here. It was a lot bigger yesterday than it is today. It took a few minutes, because we were getting recycled in the waves. Then we got him in. Lifeguards did another round of CPR compressions, and he started coughing up water.

“It’s called a combative state, where the body is fighting for its life. It’s heavy, especially when it’s one of your best friends, seeing them lifeless and purple and not breathing.”