A surfing competition in South Africa has been cancelled after on of the contestants had a close encounter with a shark.

Australian surfer Mick Fanning was competing in the J-Bay pen when the shark attacked, and the entire encounter was caught on camera.

The World Surf League posted the entire incident online after capturing the attack during a live webcast.

Fanning shockingly made it out of the attack physically unscathed, though he was clearly shaken by the situation.

Fellow competitor Julian Wilson was also pulled from the water and to safety, in fear of also being attacked by the aggressive shark.

The two men are ranked as the second and third best surfers in the world, and the prize points and money from this competition were split equally between the men.

“We are incredibly grateful that no one was seriously injured today,” the WSL said. “Mick’s composure and quick acting in the face of a terrifying situation was nothing short of heroic and the rapid response of our Water Safety personnel was commendable — they are truly world class at what they do.”

This is the first shark attack in the history of the surfing competition.

 

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