Bethany Hamilton. She's a surfer whose left arm was bitten off in a shark attack when she was only thirteen years old. But that didn't end her surfing career. Instead, it ushered her into the world of professional surfing. It further motivated her to compete in surfing competitions, and up to date, she has had numerous wins and has been highly ranked. She even wrote an autobiography, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board in 2004 and eventually the film Soul Surfer, which was based on her book, was released in 2011.
It started on October 31, 2003 when Bethany went surfing with her friends in the early morning. She was lying on her surfboard until a fourteen-foot tiger shark suddenly attacked her and bit off her left arm. With the help of her friends, she was sent to the hospital to be treated. By the time of her arrival to the hospital, she had lost a substantial amount of blood to go into hypovolemic shock. After the news broke out, family and local authorities found a shark with surfboard debris in its mouth which later was confirmed to be the same one that attacked Bethany.
Despite having one arm, Bethany rose against the odds and continued to pursue surfing. She had to make some adjustments and even utilized a customized board. In fact, one exception was that she was able to utilize a handle on her surfboard. Bethany continued to compete and won many competitions.
Recently, the surfer competed in the Fiji Women's ProSurfing Competition and beat world number one Tyler Wright as well as six-time champion Stephanie Gilmore this Memorial Day weekend. Overall, Bethany Hamilton placed third and on the other hand, Johanne Defay was the victor of the competition.
Hamilton made her sixth appearance on the elite World Surf League (WSL) tour. She tweeted: “Beyond stoked to finish 3rd in the #FijiPro as the wildcard! LOVED competing & looking forward to more adventures!!!”
Nonetheless, Hamilton's training leading up to the competition was also influenced by the birth of her first child, her son Tobias.
Regardless, this athlete performed remarkably.
It's amazing how we find certain struggles to be so challenging to overcome even if we work hard for it. For those that want to achieve their dreams so badly, they go even farther than the extra mile. Bethany Hamilton is certainly an inspiration and a good role model to surfers, young girls, athletes and more. This perseverance and determination have definitely brought her a long way. If a human can surf without an arm, just think of how much one can accomplish with (almost) any kind of hindrance they face.
