Surfer Mick Fanning battles shark attack at J-Bay Open (VIDEO)

If winning three world surfing titles wasn’t enough for Mick Fanning, he built his own legend a little more on Sunday when he fought off a shark attack in the middle of a competition in South Africa.

The Australian was a finalist in the J-Bay Open when the shark struck, and the incident was captured on television. As Fanning waited for his wave, a fin surfaced behind him. Fanning noticed the animal at the last moment and paddled away but was soon dragged off his board. To make the spectacle even more agonising, a wave then hid Fanning as he struggled to escape as the commentators – obviously shocked – tried to explain what was happening. “Oh shit,” one of them whispered.

STORY: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jul/19/surfer-mick-fanning-battles-shark-attack-at-j-bay-open-im-just-tripping?CMP=fb_us