Triathlete who survived alligator attack tells harrowing story of his escape: 'I got super lucky'

Jonathan Bruney has a message for anyone who thinks a five-foot alligator can stop him from competing in an Ironman: think again.

The triathlete and coach was leading a group of athletes through a training swim in the Savannah River near the Georgia-South Carolina border when his routine recon session turned into a fight for his life.

The group had traveled to Augusta for what Bruney described as a typical low-intensity training day, preparing for an upcoming Ironman competition. Everything was going according to plan until he felt something slam into his elbow.

"I was breathing and sighting on my left side, and he was on my right," Bruney told OutKick OutDoors. "That's when my elbow felt the brute of the force."

The culprit wasn't a piece of debris or a fellow swimmer. A massive alligator—later estimated at five to six feet long—had locked onto Bruney's arm.

"I wasn't even thinking gator. I'm thinking, 'Okay, big log floating in the river.' But then I looked to my right. I'm like, 'Okay, this is a lot worse than a log.'"

The reptile immediately began thrashing, threatening to employ the infamous "death roll" that has proven fatal for other victims.

"This thing's big enough to barrel roll and rip the arm off if I don't get away quickly," Brunen recalled.

He reacted on instinct, striking the gator twice without success. That's when he remembered something he'd seen on television.

"I went up the snout and squeezed the eye," Bruney said. The tactic—learned from watching Shark Week programming—proved effective. The alligator released its grip, and Bruney scrambled to shore.

Fellow swimmers had no phones to call for help, so a bystander dialed 911 while one of Bruney's friends used a cord from a swim buoy to control the bleeding. When emergency responders arrived minutes later, Bruney was already growing dizzy.

"The police officers, they came on scene pretty quickly. I mean, within a few minutes I heard their sirens," he said. "They actually wrapped my arm up. Pretty good props to them for knowing what to do."

Doctors treated Bruney's injuries and cleared him to continue training for the Ironman. Despite the harrowing experience, he never considered withdrawing from the competition.

"Being able to remove my race entry, that's not on the books. I can't do that," he said.

As for returning to the water where it happened, Bruney showed no hesitation.

"We'll be back in there," he said.