Keen to put his encounter with a shark at the J Bay Open behind him, Mick Fanning has returned to competitive surfing with a gutsy performance at the Billabong Pro Tahiti.
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With four events remaining on the World Surf League tour, Fanning is second in the rankings behind just 250 ratings points behind Brazil’s Adriano de Souza, with Wilson third.
“I don’t really know exactly what it’s meant to mean or anything like that but just go on as day to day”.
“I’m very excited to be back in the water competing”.
“There’s been so much hype about the incident at J-Bay and so much media attention and I just wanted to move on”.
“If you leave it for too long, then your mind starts playing tricks on you”, said Fanning.
“I guess you just focus on yourself and try and do the right things at the right time”.
The 34-year-old believes Teahupoo’s unsafe wave, classed as one of the heaviest in the world, is more of a concern to him than any more run-ins with sharks.
“Over here it’s pretty unlikely you’re going to see any big great whites”, Fanning, who has won in Tahiti once – in 2012, told the Australian Associated Press.
“Over here it’s a different kettle of fish, it’s the wave that’s the solid part of it and that’s what you’ve got to focus on”.
“Tahiti has a vibrant wildlife as well – but I think really out there in Teahupoo it’s the wave most people are concerned about”.
Fanning told the Daily Telegraph he had not sought professional help following the attack but would “talk it out” with his family and friends.
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“It happened but we’ll talk about it later…maybe stories when I’m old”.
