Aussie surf champion Mick Fanning’s return to professional surfing was suspended after a shark was seen minutes after he left the water.
Aussie surf champion Mick Fanning’s comeback to professional surfing at the Rip Curl Narrabeen Classic in Sydney was suspended on Sunday as a result of a shark sighting.
The competition was shut down for 15 minutes and surfers were pulled from the water after the shark was spotted just minutes after Fanning’s elimination round heat.
The 39-year-old was back on the sand when the shark was first spotted and even returned to the water later in the day when he took on world No. 1 Italo Ferreira in the Round of 32.
Fanning announced earlier this month he was coming out of retirement to compete as a wildcard at the World Surf League leg in Narrabeen for the first time since his retirement in 2018.
Fanning said he considered making a comeback last year, but the coronavirus pandemic understandably scrapped plans for a return.
The surfing icon was famously attacked by a shark at a South African competition in 2015 — an event that left him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
It didn’t stop him returning to the water on Sunday, where his competition ended after a narrow loss to Ferreira.
Fanning told The Daily Telegraph he was happy with how he performed in his first competitive surf for three years.
“I enjoyed the process but every time I went out it was just surfing, there was no anxiety to have a good score’’ he said.
“It was more about putting out a big performance. I felt I surfed OK but the waves didn’t really turn on for me.”
Fanning is a three-time surfing world champion, clinching titles in 2007, 2009 and 2013 along with 22 event wins. He was also a six-time Australian Male Surfer of the Year.
In February 2020, Fanning and long-term partner Breeana Randall revealed they were expecting their first child, with Xander Dean Fanning born in August last year.