Shark attack halts World Surf J-Bay Open

In this image made available by the World Surf League, Australian surfer Mick Fanning is pursued by a shark, in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, Sunday, July 19, 2015. Knocked off his board by an attacking shark, a surfer punched the creature during the televised finals of a world surfing competition in South Africa before escaping. Fanning was attacked by a shark on Sunday during the JBay Open but escaped without injuries. AP

A shark attack almost took the life of three-time world surfing champ Mick Fanning and prompted the World Surf League’s J-Bay Open in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, to be cancelled on Sunday.

With the Finals about to start against fellow Aussie Julian Wilson, Fanning felt something with his leg rope underwater before a shark fin quickly showed out of the water.

“I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking trying to get it away,” he said in a video report by SkyNews.

He continued, “I just saw fins. I was waiting for the teeth to come at me. I punched it in the back.”

Fanning was unharmed in the attack, but the organizers already decided to halt the competitions.

This is the sixth stop of the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League Championship Tour, although organizers said that it was the first time a shark attack happened in recent memory. RL/CB