FLASHBACK: This Was The Crazy Moment Pro Surfer Mick Fanning Was Attacked By A Great White Shark On Live TV During A Competition In South Africa

Ten years ago this week, sports fans around the world watched something so surreal it felt scripted for a movie rather than a live broadcast.

It was the final of the J Bay Open in South Africa, one of the most prestigious stops on the professional surfing tour. The waves were clean, the water was calm, and Australian surfer Mick Fanning was sitting on his board waiting for the next set. Then, without warning, a dark shape surfaced directly behind him.

The broadcast cameras caught it first. Viewers at home could see the unmistakable outline of a Great White shark gliding toward Fanning’s back. The commentators froze mid sentence. Within seconds, the shark lunged.

What happened next became instant sporting folklore.

Fanning felt something tug his leg and reacted on instinct. He spun around and began punching the shark in the back, later saying he aimed for anything he could reach. The water exploded into white spray as the animal thrashed around him. At one point, the shark clamped onto Fanning’s leg rope, yanking him violently off his board.

While most people would have paddled away as fast as possible, Fanning’s opponent Julian Wilson did the opposite. Seeing the chaos, Wilson turned and paddled directly toward the splashing water, putting himself in danger to help his fellow surfer.

“I just thought, that’s my mate out there,” Wilson would later say.

Fanning’s leash snapped during the struggle, freeing him from the shark’s grip. Almost immediately, jet skis from the safety team sped toward the scene. Within moments that felt like hours, both surfers were pulled out of the water.

Amazingly, neither man was physically injured.