A Sydney ocean swimmer has been dragged unconscious from the water after going into cardiac arrest at Manly.
The 65-year-old man was swimming with friends from Manly Beach to Shelly Beach on Friday morning when he got into difficulty, Surf Life Saving NSW says.
The man had stood up out of the water when he went into cardiac arrest and fell back into the ocean, a paramedic told Seven Network.
"Members of his group saw he was in trouble and swam to him, they found he was unresponsive, and dragged him to the shore," a spokesman told AAP, adding the distance between the two beaches was 750 metres and surf conditions were good.
Beachgoers - including an off-duty life saver and medical staff - performed CPR until paramedics arrived at the scene.
The victim was flown by ambulance helicopter to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
He subsequently improved and was in a stable condition on Friday evening, a hospital spokesman told AAP.
