No one should attempt a rescue like this! With no flotation device, Saint Cloud State Huskies swimmer saved a man and two children from drowning on Lake Superior. Marena Kouba survived, and relived the traumatic experience for WCCO-TV reporter Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield. Kouba won the Carnegie Medal for her bravery – an award some recipients receive posthumously because they died during the rescue.
But it wasn’t only Kouba’s swimming skills that brought her back to shore alive. It was a deeper level of courage that made a miracle happen.