‘Brian’s a hero’: Saskatoon runner rescues man struggling in river


A Saskatoon man is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a person from the South Saskatchewan River Wednesday afternoon.

Brian Gibson and his friend were taking a break from running up and down sets of stairs at the intersection of Ravine Drive and Spadina Avenue around 5:45 pm Wednesday afternoon when he noticed a man trying to walk his bicycle across the river.

After a few minutes, Gibson noticed the man wasn’t making much progress as the water started to become deeper and deeper.

Once Gibson ran down to the riverbank, I realized this person was in serious trouble.

That’s when his instincts took over. Gibson quickly stripped him to his underwear, jumped in the water and chased after this man in clear distress.

“I just made a quick decision to go in there. I figured I could get it done. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be doing some swimming or what but it worked out good and (I’m) just happy the guy’s alright,” Gibson said of his quick actions.

“A little wild Wednesday.”

Gibson didn’t know where the man was coming from or why he was trying to carry his bike through the frigid waters but said once he got close to the water it was obvious this stranger was exhausted.

“He just couldn’t stand anymore and it looked like he needed some help. He was in a dangerous spot,” Gibson said. “I decided to get in there as quickly as I could.”

Gibson doesn’t want the recognition for saving someone, let alone being labeled a hero for his quick thinking.

“I’m just glad I was there. Right place, right time,” he said.

Harvey Weber disagrees. Weber was on his way home from work when he saw Gibson and his friend running toward the water.

“Brian’s a hero. Anybody who sees him, give him a shake. He did a great job saving that gentleman,” Weber said.

Weber said Gibson asked for his belt before he plunged into the river in case he needed some extra help getting the man to shore.

“Before long, he was in severe danger. He was submerged under the water completely a couple times,” Weber said.

Gibson says a lifetime of spending summers and springs swimming in lakes around Saskatchewan helped him on Wednesday.

Years ago, Gibson experienced a close call of his own when two canoes he was traveling with flipped on the water. Everyone managed to get away unscathed, but Gibson feels that situation has made him extra cautious of water safety and prepared him for Wednesday.

“I just kind of (thought) about that situation was I was running over there, and you never know. The river’s dangerous and you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he said.

Weber has spent time as a lifeguard and helped people avoid drowning before. The moment he got out of his car and saw Gibson getting into the water he knew what he was watching.

“When someone is in that situation, you might have minutes or less,” Weber said. “This person was in the midst of drowning. It hits your heart… Brian was just way more responsive than I was.”

Shortly after getting the man ashore, police arrived to take care of the man who was unable to speak and could barely move from exhaustion.

“Hopefully he’s having an OK day and maybe (he’ll) think twice about trying to cross the river,” Gibson said.


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