Champion Surfer Fights Off Shark During Finals [VIDEO]

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A surfing competition was cancelled today due to a shark attack on one of the finalists.

Mick Fanning competing in the Jeffreys Bay surfing event was attacked by a shark as he paddled his board off the waters of South Africa. The Ex-world champ was competing in the final of the surfing event against fellow Australian Julian Wilson. The video shows the attack and how Fanning grappled with the fish before punching the man-eater away from himself.

The competitive surfer was on his toes during the attack and managed to fend off the monster from the deep before being rescued by the event organizers in a boat.

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The Sunday Express reports:

Sitting and paddling on his board in shallow water, live TV footage showed the 34-year-old Australian then frantically kick out as the shark’s ominous dorsal fin swam past him.

Fanning then fell off his board as the shark attacked him from behind, before disappearing from view beneath the waves.

Officials on a nearby boat soon came to his aid, with Fanning later describing to reported how he “punched him [the shark] in the back”.

Organisers have called off today’s event due to the attack, posting on Twitter: “Due to the shark incident, #JBayOpen has been called OFF for the day. The athletes are unharmed. More info soon”.

Due to the shark incident, #JBayOpen has been called OFF for the day. The athletes are unharmed. More info soon http://t.co/Kq8bZ5eIA7

— #JBayOpen (@wsl) July 19, 2015

Jeffreys Bay, one of the five most famous surfing destinations in the world, is an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth in South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

There have been five shark attacks off Eastern Cape since March last year, when 66-year-old father-of-three Friedrich Burgstaller – an Austrian tourist – was killed while swimming at a beach in Port St Johns.