14 DAY TRIAL // Over the weekend, on Sunday, Australian champion surfer Mick Fanning was attacked by a great white shark while competing in the final round of the J-Bay Open in South Africa.
The shark swam up to surfer without Mick Fanning even realizing it. It tried to bite him, but luckily, it only managed to knock him off his board.
What with the J-Bay Open being broadcast on live television, the attack on the champion surfer was caught on film. Soon enough, footage of the incident, released by the World Surf League, started making the rounds.
The video in question, available below, shows the shark's fin emerging from the water right behind Mick Fanning. As the predator smashes into him, Mick Fanning falls into the water.
The surfer fought off the shark
Realizing that there was no way he could out-swim the shark, Mick Fanning instead turned around and did his best to fight it off. Much to his surprise, the endeavor proved fruitful.
The surfer managed to deliver a hearty blow to the shark's back, and most likely because it wasn't expecting this welcome, the animal gave up and swam away.
“I instantly just jumped away. It kept coming at my board and I was kicking and screaming. I just saw fins. I punched it in the back,” Mick Fanning later said in an interview.
“No one has ever seen anyone attacked in a heat... it was such a scary thing to see him come off his board,” added commentator Ross Williams.
As vicious and unexpected as the shark's attack was, the world champion surfer made it out of the water uninjured. True, the fish left him without a leg rope, but this was the only casualty.
At least for now, it is unclear what might have prompted the shark's attack. What's pretty obvious, however, is that, with Mick Fanning safe and sound, folks are actually having fun over it.
There is only one thing #MickFanning says to sharks: pic.twitter.com/RWVjNUbtUP
— Sam Spettigue (@ninjaspag) July 19, 2015
Glad to see @mfanno was able to punch his way out of this mornings potentially fatal #jbayopen final. @wsl A photo posted by Dylan Ortega (@galaxynuckles) on Jul 19, 2015 at 12:27pm PDT
Imagine how adding #mickfanning to #superbowl halftime would have made performance so much better. pic.twitter.com/aK2o1sXd6o
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) July 19, 2015
#NEWSALERT MIck Fanning attacks shark. "I punched him!" Both the shark and Mick are fine. STATEMENT FROM THE SHARK CAMP: "I'm sorry Mr Fanning, it won't happen again" - Shark. #mickfanningsharkattack #gladyoureokmick #dontmesswithmick #sharkpunch #mickFanningIsChuckNorris #stud #mickfanningisastud #jbayopen #wsl #surfing A photo posted by luckylarmoe (@luckylarmoe) on Jul 19, 2015 at 11:36am PDT
My favourite #MickFanning tweet of the day. pic.twitter.com/S0Dh1ND1GV
— Anthony Clark (@AnthonyClarkAU) July 20, 2015
If you don't know what happened to @mfanno today, check it out. So glad that guy is okay... Here are some words from the shark that was involved. (Original) #JBayOpen #jeffreysbay #jbay #southafrica #shark #sharkattack #surfing #wsl #mickfanning #dontmesswithmickfanningifyoureashark A photo posted by Brandon (@avg.surfer) on Jul 19, 2015 at 12:49pm PDT
Wow. This morning was GNARLY. I still have chills on the back of my neck. First shark attack in WSL history and the shark got his ass kicked while trying to wrestle #mickfanning. You're our hero and we are all so happy you're alive. #surfing #surf #WSL #ASP #chucknorris #shark #australians #jbayopen #legend #julianwilson A photo posted by aDRiana Urquidez (@drubradley) on Jul 19, 2015 at 12:06pm PDT