Mitchell Mochinski saved a man from drowning, Lake Shore, Minnesota, November 5, 2010. Mochinski, 22, sales representative, was fishing the narrows between Upper Gull and Gull lakes when he saw an 81-year-old man drop from a nearby bridge into the water. As the man made no effort to reach either bank of the 75-foot-wide narrows, Mochinski, without hesitation, ran to a point on the bank opposite him. Removing two coats but leaving on two pairs of pants and his boots, Mochinski entered the water, which was frigid; the air temperature was about 35 degrees. He swam to the man, who was face down in the water against a bridge pier closer to the opposite bank. Mochinski turned the man over and then, grasping him by his shirtfront, swam with one arm to the closer bank, his arms and legs by then numbing. Others helped him pull the man out of the water. The man revived at the scene and was taken to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia. Mochinski was cold and shivering but recovered later that day.
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