Chris Schiavone was filming a storm on a golf course in Cincinnati, Ohio when lightning hit him on Friday, Aug. 7, and the moment was caught on video. He survived the strike and later said he felt “very lucky and blessed” to be alive.
The clip shows Schiavone laughing at a torrential downpour before a loud bolt blasts near him and sends him backward. Matt Devitt shared the video after it began to spread online and said he spoke with Schiavone, who was struck on the arm and is recovering.
The reason the video is drawing so much attention is simple: it turns a rare close call into something anyone can see. Lightning kills about 20 people a year in the United States, and the National Weather Service says there have already been four confirmed lightning fatalities this year, including two in Florida this month.
That broader risk also helps explain why this strike stands out. Last year, the National Weather Service reported 20 confirmed lightning fatalities nationwide, and two of them involved people who were playing golf. The agency says most lightning deaths involve people hunting or fishing, while about 10 percent of those struck are killed.
Schiavone’s video lands as both a scare and a reminder. He was close enough to be thrown backward, yet lived to describe the moment in plain terms. The open question now is not whether the strike was serious; it is how long his recovery will take after a hit that could easily have been fatal.
