A surfing competition was abruptly interrupted when professional surfer Mick Fanning barely escaped a shark attack in the opening minutes of the final heat, in South Africa.
The World Surf League champion had just begun his final against fellow Australian Julian Wilson in Jeffreys Bay, on the Eastern Cape, when a fin appeared behind him, as clearly shown in the video below.
Fanning got the shock of his life when he saw the shark, and used his board as a shield in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
“I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope.”
“I instantly just jumped and he kept coming at my board. I was just kicking and screaming.”
“I saw fins. I was waiting for the teeth.”
Fanning escaped with a severed leash on his surfboard. According to Fox Sports, he even admitted “punching” the shark to scare it away.
That was way too close… @Mick_Fanning's severed leash. @wsl pic.twitter.com/W8jyxaGZYc
— Rip Curl (@ripcurl) July 19, 2015
Miraculously, Fanning got himself to a safety boat after that and somehow emerged from the ocean unharmed. The Water Safety Team also managed to pull Wilson out of the water.
I had this feeling that something was behind (me), and all of a sudden I felt like I started getting pulled underwater. And then the thing came up and I was on my board and it was right there,” Fanning said in an interview with CNN, after safely returning to the beach.
“I had this thought, ‘What if it comes around for another go at me?'” he added. “Before I knew it, the boat was there. … I can’t believe it, I was tripping out. I’m totally tripping out.”
The incident also rattled Wilson, as he was later seen quite traumatized recalling him watching Fanning get knocked off his board.
Interview with Julian Wilson on being in the water with Fanning during the shark attack, heavy situation to be in. pic.twitter.com/o7xAC6fTOc
— Neal Mann (@fieldproducer) July 19, 2015
Organizers of the J-Bay Open, the sixth stop on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League Championship Tour, decided to cancel the remainder of the competition after the shark attack, with Fanning and Wilson splitting the points and prize money.
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