Wonder Woman of the Week: Bethany Hamilton

When it gets cold in the middle of winter as it is now, I like to think of summer weather. I think about playing soccer, going on road trips, and my favorite week of television- Shark Week. This week’s spotlight sees Shark Light much differently than most of us do however. As a thirteen year-old, one girl survived a shark attack then went on to be one of the most famous surfers in the modern history of the sport. Not only was life itself an accomplishment for the girl who lost her arm to a tiger shark, but her athletic record in the sport of surfing alone is enough to warrant international praise. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Bethany Hamilton.

Bethany Hamilton was born in 1990 on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. She was raised in a surfing family and learned to surf at an early age. Hamilton was already competing in the sport at eight years old and earned her first sponsorship at nine. In 2003, she won Hawaii’s Local Motion/Exekiel Surf age group competition and open division- meaning she whooped the seasoned adults too. At the National Scholastic Surfing Association National Championships in San Clemente, CA; Hamilton placed second. Young Bethany was staged to become a world-celebrated surfer. [1]

On the Halloween morning, 2003; Bethany Hamilton went to Tunnels Beach in Ha’ena with friends and family. While lying on her board looking for the next wave, Bethany felt an intense pressure on her left arm. The water around her turned red and her friends realized her arm was missing. A fourteen-foot tiger shark had attacked the thirteen year-old girl. A friend’s father make a tourniquet from his surfboard leash and rushed the young teen to the hospital. Bethany lost sixty percent of her blood in the attack, underwent several surgeries, and survived the attack. [2]

Lifeguards and paramedics attributed Bethany Hamilton’s will and “water sense” to her survival. A positive attitude and determination to not only live, but to continue surfing led the young surfer to set a new goal in life; get back in the water. Hamilton returned to surfing as fast as her doctors would allow it and that included placing in a national championship. In 2005, only two years after the attack, Bethany competed in the Open Women’s Division of the NSSA Nationals Qualifier. She held her own against the top female surfers in the country and took first place to qualify for the national competition. For her inspirational story of heroism, Hamilton earned an ESPN Espy Award. [3]

Returning to the sport and placing in a national competition was not enough for surfer Bethany Hamilton. Even after proving to the world one shark attack victim was still a dominating force in her sport, Hamilton continued to make significant achievements. As part of her work to film an autobiographical documentary, Hamilton wanted to surf Hawaii’s infamously large “Pe’ahi.” The wave was not only a massive force surfers from around the world dreamed of taming, its nickname alone- Jaws- was enough to make a shark attack survivor want to break it. In 2015, Hamilton accomplished the impossible wave and rode Pe’ahi six months after giving birth to her first child and twelve years after the shark attack. [4]

Surfer Bethany Hamilton is the quintessence of will. Before she was even ten years old, Hamilton was winning competitions. By thirteen, she was making a name for herself among veterans in her sport by placing in regional and national surfing championships. As an adult, Hamilton went on to win more national championships, earn more sponsorships, inspire new generations of young athletes, and conquer bigger waves. All of that would be enough to secure this athlete a spot in an hall of fame, but to add surviving a shark attack- an event that brought this athlete to near death at only thirteen years-old- and to use that experience as her drive to become a hero to herself and young girls everywhere is enough to secure Bethany Hamilton a place among the stars. Bethany Hamilton is without a doubt a real-life superhero and she will no doubt continue to be a perfect role model for young surfers around the world.

“Bethany Hamilton Biography.” 2016. biography.com. Accessed 13 January 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/bethany-hamilton

“Bethany Hamilton: Shark Attack Victim Still Making Waves.” 2016. Christian Broadcasting Network. Accessed 13 January 2016. http://www1.cbn.com/700club/bethany-hamilton-shark-attack-victim-still-making-waves

“Bethany Hamilton.” 1 December 2010. rip curl. Accessed 13 January 2016. http://www.ripcurl.com/bhamilton.html

Hamilton, Becky. “Tow in Surf at Pe’ahi ‘Jaws.’” 12 January 2016. BethanyHamilton.com. Accessed 13 January 2016. http://bethanyhamilton.com/tow-in-surf-at-peahi-jaws/