‘I was so scared, ‘ a tearful Ms Osborne told ABC radio on Monday.
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Speculation has been rife that Fanning may call it quits after hinting, in the moments after his terrifying ordeal, that he would not compete again. The last time global interest was this strong was in June 2005, when two separate shark attacks in the Florida gulf just three days apart killed a 14-year-old girl and cost a 16-year-old boy his leg.
“All of [a] sudden, I just had this instinct that something was behind me”, Fanning, aged 34, told the World Surf League website.
“I was so scared”.
His mother Elizabeth Osborne is expecting an emotional homecoming after she watched the live broadcast of the attack. “I just saw the fin, I didn’t see the teeth”.
Supporters of Fanning and surfers all over the world breathed a collective sigh of relief as news of the rescue broke out.
He said his brother’s death helped him focus on achieving his dream of become a pro-surfer – something he and Sean had wanted to do together.
More than 97 percent of attacks worldwide take place along the U.S. East Coast and in the waters of Australia, South Africa and Hawaii. “If you are going to be weak and not defensive, you have no chance”.
The resultant branding will be generate enormous media exposure for the already-heavily marketed brand as scenes from the press conference are relayed around the world over the coming day.
While she would not normally advocate provoking a shark, Kock said Fanning made the right choice. Fellow competitor Wilson was even struggling for composure as he recalled the nerve-wracking experience of seeing Fanning get knocked of his board.
Mick Fanning was competing for a world title in South Africa when he was attacked by a shark, remarkably escaping uninjured.
Surfers Mick Fanning and Julian Wilson will discuss their close shark encounter today in Sydney. I was on top of it, trying to put my board between us. I’d never seen something so big in the ocean.
“Fight back and pray because when a big fish like that is in a feeding mood it’s hard to push away”, says Andrew Rossiter, the Curator of the Waikiki Aquarium.
Commentator Ross Williams said the incident was one of the craziest things he had seen in a competition.
Fanning’s manager Ronnie Blakey said he feared the worst as he watched the attack unfold.
The former Campbell High School Saber, who is now in London on a layover en route to Oahu, faced off with the three-time world champion in Round 5 of the WSL’s J-Bay Open.
“I’m totally fine. I’ve got nothing wrong with me”, Fanning said in an interview.
“What we saw in South Africa was Queensland mateship at its best”, Palaszczuk said in a statement. “I was absolutely terrified, I thought we’d lost him”.
“I am sure I will surf again, surfing has given me so much”, he said. We are in their domain.
At their peaks, however, searches for both British Open and WWE eclipsed searches for Mick Fanning, as you can see in the chart above.
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‘I thought this guy was going to die in front of us, it was so hectic.
