Bethany Hamilton, 18, came in second in the ASP World Junior Women’s Surfing Championships, despite a significant handicap: Bethany has only one arm.
Bethany lost her left arm five years ago to a 15-foot Tiger shark while she was surfing in her native Hawaii. A short three weeks after the attack, Bethany was back on her board. Bethany says that she was “skeptical about whether I would actually be able to do it or not. But before I even left the hospital, I decided that I was going to surf.” She admits to a lingering fear of sharks, but Bethany ultimately decided, “This is not going to defeat me.” [Mirror]
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