'Like watching a Mick Fanning replay' - Australian surfer punches shark during attack

Australian surfer Craig Ison has punched a shark which attacked him, police have said, in an incident very similar to the one that involved three-time world champion Mick Fanning.

Ison suffered serious leg and arm injuries during the attack off the north coast of New South Wales which reportedly occurred early on Friday.

Ison managed to scramble back to shore where an onlooker applied a tourniquet to his leg, according to the police statement.

The Australian is reportedly in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Olympic Games Paris 2024

Olympics 2024: What's next for Surfing in storm-hit Tahiti? How is scheduling affected?

01/08/2024 at 19:22

A friend of the 52-year-old who observed the incident, Geoff Hill, told local media the attack was “like watching a Mick Fanning replay”.

[Fanning takes first surf since shark attack]

Hill told the Northern Star newspaper: "We were just paddling out this morning and Craig was 20m ahead of me."

"But it grabbed him as he turned around," he said, saying Ison was pulled under the water.

"I paddled to him but by then he was on his board and paddling back.

"It was like watching a Mick Fanning replay."

[Mick Fanning's 'shark attack' actually nothing of the sort]

Fanning escaped unharmed after he punched a shark during a competition in South Africa in an incident which went viral around the world.

The former world champion managed to board a jet-ski after the attack which occurred during the World Surf League event in Jeffreys Bay, which was broadcast live.

Mick Fanning shark

Image credit: TNT Sports

Olympic Games Paris 2024

Proof this wasn't Photoshop - The footage behind the incredible viral surfing image of the Olympics

30/07/2024 at 12:06