Schwarzenegger helped swimmer in Maui, according to his office

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The famously fit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on vacation in Hawaii, helped a struggling swimmer on a boogie board make it safely to the beach, his office said Friday.

Schwarzenegger, who's been on a 10-day getaway with his family at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, was swimming toward his wife, Maria Shriver, Wednesday when he noticed a man "in distress in the water" clutching a boogie board about 100 yards offshore, said Margita Thompson, the governor's spokeswoman in Sacramento.

"The governor could tell there was something wrong," Thompson said. "He asked him if he was all right. The man said he had cramps all over."

Schwarzenegger towed the man to safety, she said. She had no information on the ailing swimmer, who apparently walked away unaided.

"The governor told him to hold on to the boogie board and he swam him in," she said.

Access Hollywood co-anchor Pat O'Brien, whose family is vacationing with the Schwarzeneggers at the luxury resort, provided a slightly different account.

O'Brien, who did not witness the aquatic heroics, said Schwarzenegger borrowed a boogie board to bring the man in, who by his estimate was 200 yards offshore.

Shriver "came up and she said, you know, 'Did you hear the big story?' She was kind of laughing. She said Arnold just pulled a guy out of the water," O'Brien said.

"The guy wasn't drowning, he wasn't going under, but he was in trouble," O'Brien added.

Maui County Police Sgt. Richard Suapaia said police received no emergency calls regarding an endangered swimmer, and that no report involving Schwarzenegger had been filed.

A woman who identified herself as an assistant manager at the resort said she was unaware of the beach rescue. The resort does not have lifeguards on its beach. A Four Seasons spokeswoman, Lori Kennedy, declined to comment.

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