A surfer who was knocked off his board by a shark punched his attacker during the televised finals of a world surfing competition in South Africa before escaping.
Australian surfer Mick Fanning was attacked by the shark during the JBay Open in Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape Province but escaped without injuries.
You can see him being knocked off his surfboard. As he scans the water, two fins appear and he disappears under the surface. He is next seen furiously trying to swim to safety before a rescuer pulls him out of the water.
The pro surfer said: “I felt something grab, get stuck in my leg rope and instantly jump away. And it just kept coming at my board,” Fanning said, once safe on the rescue boat.
Fanning said at first he swam away but then decided to defend himself and turned to punch the shark in the back.
“I saw it taking my board away and I just started cracking it,” he told a crowd that gathered around him once he was back on shore, referring to how he struck the shark.
“I’m totally fine. I’ve got nothing wrong with me,” Fanning said in an interview. “There’s a small depression in my board and my leg wrap (was) bitten. I’m just totally tripping out. To walk away from that, I’m just so stoked. Oh man.”
The World Surf League cancelled the remainder of the event and Fanning will split the prize money with fellow Australian surfer Julian Wilson, who was also in the water when the attack happened. The two will share second place.
