City honors two women who saved player with CPR at pickleball court

A routine pickleball session at Life Time Eden Prairie Athletic turned into a life-or-death emergency in October 2025 when Tim Thai collapsed on the court and needed immediate help. Sue Bayer and Olivia Chase responded fast, using CPR and an AED before emergency personnel arrived.

The city later honored both women at a May 6 council meeting, framing the rescue as more than a lucky break. Fire Chief Scott Gerber and Police Chief Matt Sackett led the presentation, a clear sign that officials saw the episode as a public-safety success story as much as a remarkable save on a pickleball court at the club on Prairie Center Drive.

Thai’s recovery gave the moment even more weight. He was not discharged from medical care until the end of February 2026, and when he addressed the recognition meeting, he described the feeling of finally leaving the hospital as an incredible sense of relief. The timeline is the part facility operators cannot ignore: the survival story began not in an ambulance bay or emergency room, but in the seconds after a collapse during ordinary play.

Bayer’s role carried its own lesson for the pickleball community. She works as a registered nurse, and she said she felt grateful to have been able to use her training when it mattered. Chase, who was in town visiting when the emergency happened, was not present at the council meeting, but the city recognized her alongside Bayer for helping stabilize Thai before medical crews took over.

That is the hard truth behind this kind of rescue. Pickleball may be low-impact compared with many other sports, but the court still demands readiness for sudden collapse, especially among older adults and active retirees who make up much of the game’s growth. CPR training, a working AED and calm decision-making turned a frightening scene into a survival story, and Eden Prairie’s recognition of Bayer and Chase put the right lesson in plain view: courts need more than paddles and paint lines, they need a plan for the moment when a player’s heart stops.