The shark attacked, knocking triple world champion Fanning off his board just as a wave rolled through and hid him from view as Wilson frantically began paddling to the rescue.
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The broadcast showed Fanning holding his surfboard and swimming in the water when a shark’s fin appeared by his side. “And it just kept coming at my board…I punched it in the back“.
“I got an email from a friend tonight who said he clearly saw a shark figure in a wave during the quarterfinals from a drone shot”, Slater wrote on an Instagram post accompanying a photo of he and Fanning hugging after the terrifying ordeal. Fanning told World Surf League TV that he basically punched the shark in the back in an attempt to scare it away. “Just thought of more of an emotional, mental sort of trauma right now”, he told reporters after touching down in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.
“I froze trying to assess the situation and Mick fought and it was probably that that gave me the courage to go towards him”, Wilson said.
The Chicago Tribune writes that last Sunday, Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark during a live television coverage.
Mr King said he could definitely relate to the fear and panic that Fanning would have been feeling out in the ocean as he came away from his board. Luckily, the three-time world champion managed to fend off the attack and only suffered a bruised hand from punching the shark. Despite the danger posed by the shark, Wilson furiously paddled towards Fanning to help and was hailed in Australia Monday for his courageous actions.
The Gold Coast surfer says he’s not sure how long it will take to get over the attack.
“I felt so insignificant, the thing was so powerful and just moved so fast”. I was waiting for teeth to come at me.
It will be interesting now to see the reaction to the incident (I feel uncomfortable referring to it as an “attack”). The Water Safety Team pulled Fanning and fellow competitor Julian Wilson out of the waters to safety. “Before I knew it, the boat was there”.
Mick Fanning, Julian Wilson and Kelly Slater recounted the incident from each of their perspectives. “I bet Mick Fanning is one hell of a relieved surfer”. “I just needed to preserve him really, but there was very little I could do”.
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It was from one feeding frenzy to another for Fanning as he landed in Sydney, mobbed by the media and supporters after returning home from his close encounter.
