A surfing champion punched a shark attacking him and came away unscathed
![Mick Fanning](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KbHv5SCg7JgTnKZWnZwji5-594-80.jpg)
Professional Australian surfer and three-time world champion Mick Fanning had some unwanted company Sunday during a competition in South Africa. As he was getting ready to paddle, a shark swam at his board. Fanning proved his athleticism by punching the shark twice.
"It kept coming at my board and I was kicking and screaming. I just saw fins. I didn’t see teeth,” he told news.com.au. "I was waiting for the teeth to come at me. I punched it in the back."
Fanning was then pulled from the water by safety crews on jet skis. The World Surf League cancelled the event after the incident.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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