Young mum Leah Stewart fighting for life after horror Coogee shark attack as loved ones speak out

The woman injured in Saturday’s shark attack at Coogee Beach has been identified as much-loved mum Leah Stewart.

Friends have described Ms Stewart, 35, as an accomplished swimmer and passionate advocate for water quality.

Ms Stewart was swimming about 30 metres from shore when she was attacked by a suspected great white shark.

A friend was caring for her toddler on the beach while her partner was overseas and rushed home after hearing the news.

Off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco, 24, sprang into action, paddling towards the shark before helping Ms Stewart from the water.

‘I’d like to think I did enough to get her in fast enough,’ he told 7NEWS.

‘Once I had her next to me, I was just going, ‘keep your head above water, keep breathing, you’re doing really well, we’re almost at the beach.’

‘Just anything, I guess, to feel the silence. It wasn’t conversational. She was not in a great way.’

Ms Stewart was airlifted to hospital after suffering devastating injuries to her left arm and leg.

She was in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney on Monday morning.

Ms Stewart, who has lived in Coogee for several years, swam 50km in November to raise funds for breast cancer research.  

‘As a breastfeeding mum, I have a whole new appreciation for these incredible organs and want to do my part in supporting the fight against the most common cancer in women,’ she wrote on her fundraising page.

She and her partner welcomed their first child early last year. 

The attack has renewed calls for a shark cull around Sydney’s popular swimming beaches following a series of bull shark attacks in January and the latest incident at the weekend.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the government was considering a bull shark cull.