Bethany Hamilton

  b. 1990 | American surfer

At The Bottom

— 2003

The 14-foot tiger shark tore into her arm just below the shoulder..

Bethany Hamilton never saw the shark that ripped off her left arm.  The Hawaiian girl was perched atop her surfboard early in the morning on October 31, 2003, taking a few morning runs at Tunnels Beach, Kauai.  Her father, her brother and a friend had joined Hamilton, who at the age of thirteen was well on her way to becoming a world-class professional surfer.  She’d been winning national championships since she was ten and had recently signed on with a surf apparel company, Rip Curl, which sponsored her training and gave her a boost toward her goal of becoming the one of the best surfers in the world.  When the 14-foot tiger shark tore into her arm just below the shoulder, however, Hamilton’s aspirations as well as her life were suddenly in grave danger.  Although she remained calm throughout the aftermath, she lost a tremendous amount of blood and could easily have died during the 45-minute trip to the hospital.  Surgeons were able to clean and suture the wound, and with a flap of skin from her armpit were able to cover the stump.  When she regained consciousness, her doctors explained that she would be able to live a normal life with only one arm; Hamilton wondered, however, if she’d ever be able to surf again.