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  • 17 hours ago
Three years after a beloved teacher was killed by a shark while surfing off the Eyre Peninsula coast, a team of runners traversed the state’s outback raising more than $500,000 to build a sports facility in his memory. The group ran the equivalent of 17 marathons from Adelaide to Elliston, finishing the race in the tight knit community where Simon Bacanello taught PE.

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00:02Crossing the finish line after relaying 720 kilometres across SA.
00:08Certainly quite an emotional experience for us, but also a really positive one.
00:12The memory of school teacher Simon Bucky Bacanello, who died in a 2023 shark attack near Elliston,
00:20still front of mind for his loved ones and the regional community he'd only just moved to.
00:26This community meant so much to him and they're hurting so much still.
00:30I mean, you have a tragedy like what happened and there's a great outpouring of emotion.
00:35Bucky's Beach Relay left on Tuesday from Adelaide, reaching Elliston on Saturday afternoon.
00:42When runners crossed the finish line here at Elliston Oval, they would have run the equivalent of 17 marathons.
00:49While Bucky's death devastated this close-knit community, locals say today is about continuing his legacy
00:56and bringing the community together.
00:58Yeah, he's an absolute legend. He didn't just come into our town quietly. He came in with some real passion
01:06and excitement.
01:07The relay raised more than half a million dollars to help build a community sports centre in Bucky's name.
01:13Simon will always live on in our hearts, always. And if we can have something tangible here
01:19for this amazing community that he loved, I think that's going to be really special.
01:23A journey of remembrance to cement the legacy of a community legend.
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