If winning three world surfing titles wasn’t enough for Mick Fanning, he built his own legend a little more on Sunday when he fought off a shark attack in the middle of a competition in South Africa.
The Australian was a finalist in the J-Bay Open when the shark struck, and the incident was captured on television. As Fanning waited for his wave, a fin surfaced behind him. Fanning noticed the animal at the last moment and paddled away but was soon dragged off his board. To make the spectacle even more agonising, a wave then hid Fanning as he struggled to escape as the commentators – obviously shocked – tried to explain what was happening. “Oh shit,” one of them whispered.
Fanning would have a lucky escape. Nearby rescue boats were soon on hand and he was helped to shore alongside fellow finalist, Julian Wilson.
Fanning was understandably shaken after the incident. “All of [a] sudden, I just had this instinct that something was behind me,” Fanning told the World Surf League website. “And then all of a sudden, I felt like I started getting pulled under water. Then the [shark] came up, and I was on my board and it was like right there, and I saw the whole thing thrashing around.
Surfer Mick Fanning battles shark attack at J-Bay Open: 'I'm just tripping'
If winning three world surfing titles wasn’t enough for Mick Fanning, he built his own legend a little more on Sunday when he fought off a shark attack in the middle of a competition in South Africa.
The Australian was a finalist in the J-Bay Open when the shark struck, and the incident was captured on television. As Fanning waited for his wave, a fin surfaced behind him. Fanning noticed the animal at the last moment and paddled away but was soon dragged off his board. To make the spectacle even more agonising, a wave then hid Fanning as he struggled to escape as the commentators – obviously shocked – tried to explain what was happening. “Oh shit,” one of them whispered.
Fanning would have a lucky escape. Nearby rescue boats were soon on hand and he was helped to shore alongside fellow finalist, Julian Wilson.
Fanning was understandably shaken after the incident. “All of [a] sudden, I just had this instinct that something was behind me,” Fanning told the World Surf League website. “And then all of a sudden, I felt like I started getting pulled under water. Then the [shark] came up, and I was on my board and it was like right there, and I saw the whole thing thrashing around.
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