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U.S. Triathlete Frees Arm After Alligator Bite, Doctors Say

8/26/2026

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Summary

Story summary

U.S. triathlete Jonathan Bruney gouged an alligator’s eye to free his arm after being bitten.
The bite occurred at about 10:35 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23, in the Savannah River near North Augusta.
Fellow athlete Matthew Davis applied a swim-buoy cord as a tourniquet while a bystander called 911.
Doctors said Bruney suffered only skin and fat damage, which was treatable.
South Carolina officials searched the shoreline and found no alligator.

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Story summary

U.S. triathlete Jonathan Bruney gouged an alligator’s eye to free his arm after being bitten.
The bite occurred at about 10:35 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23, in the Savannah River near North Augusta.
Fellow athlete Matthew Davis applied a swim-buoy cord as a tourniquet while a bystander called 911.
Doctors said Bruney suffered only skin and fat damage, which was treatable.
South Carolina officials searched the shoreline and found no alligator.