Armenian S. Karapetyan

Shavarsh Karapetyan, a 17-time world swimming champion from Armenia, was on a 12-mile run in 1976 when he heard a crash and saw a bus sink into a lake. He dove 33 feet deep, rescuing 20 people, one at a time, from the frigid and sewage-infested water. His career as a professional swimmer ended after this heroic act due to two-sided pneumonia and blood contamination that put him in a coma. This didn't stop him from saving more people nine years later, when he rushed into a burning hospital to save people trapped inside. He suffered severe burns during the rescue.