A Shark Attack Couldn't Stop Bethany Hamilton from Fulfilling her Dreams

Bethany Meilani Hamilton was born into a family of surfers on February 8, 1990. With two older brothers and parents who had a passion for surfing, Bethany was destine to follow suit.

Born and raised on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany took to the water at a young age. She entered her first surf competition at eight years old where she took home the win for both the long and short board divisions.

Bethany continued to enter competitions, such as, the 1999 Haleiwa Menehune Championships and the Volcom Puffer Fish contest, where she continuously brought home the win. Bethany became a well-known up and coming pro surfer at a tender age.  She instantly had a passion for surfing and completion just as her family of surfers did. At such a young age, Bethany already knew what she wanted to be when she “grew up;” Bethany wanted to be a pro surfer and she had the natural talent to make her dreams a reality.

On Halloween morning, 2003, Hamilton went for a morning surfer off Kauai’s North Shore around 7:30 a.m. with her good friend Alana Blanchard and Blanchard’s dad. That morning, the water was calm and Bethany lounged on her surfer board with her left arm in the water while waiting for a wave to come.  Within seconds the 13 year-old was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark, biting off her left arm just below the shoulder.

Hamilton’s friends paddled her back to shore where they used a surfboard leash as a tourniquet to wrap around what was left of her arm. Bethany was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital where she spent seven days in recovery after losing 60% of her blood.

Despite the tragic incident, Bethany was determined to not let her it stop her from fulfilling her dreams of becoming a pro-surfer.  Only one month after the attack, Hamilton returned to the water.  Just over a year after being hospitalized, she returned to her passion of surfing competitively and placed 5^th in the Open Women’s division and soon after won her first National Title by 1^st place in the Explorer Women’s division of the 2005 NSSA National Championships.   

Hamilton continues to be an inspiration for many, leading led her to write a book and most recently, having a movie written about her.