Olympic kayaker Mike Dawson has survived a horrific near drowning in a Chilean river.
The 26-year-old Waiariki Academy of Sport star was competing in the Whitewater Grand Prix, a seven-stage adventure race across rivers near the bottom of South America.
Dawson was busy taking action photos of his girlfriend, top Dutch paddler Martina Wegman, when he slipped and fell into the freezing Puesco section of the Trancura River.
"I was swept through a narrow slot and under a rock. I got pretty trapped and wedged under there and lost sight of daylight," Dawson said.
"I managed to push and force my way out but in the process inhaled water into my lungs. I had a bit of hypothermia, was also going into shock and couldn't seem to get my breath so they drove me to the nearest hospital and transferred me to a larger hospital straight away."