Champion surfer Kelly Slater may have come face to face with a shark during a run on a Western Australian beach this week.
Filming himself at Margaret River, the second leg of the ASP World Tour of Surfing, Slater came across something in the water.
The surfing hotspot south of Perth is known for shark sightings, however the 11-time world champ was quick to dismiss the notion that a shark had crept into his footage.
“It is clearly a guy paddling over the top,’’ Slater said after winning his fourth round heat.
But while Slater remains unconvinced, South African Jordy Smith said that he and Brazilian Miguel Pupo definitely came across a shark during their heat.
“It was thrashing around. I looked at Miguel, he looked at me and his feet were immediately on top of the board,’’ Smith said.
Aussie stars saw a 3.4m great white at last month’s World Tour opener on the Gold Coast. The shark was later caught on a drum line and killed.
Sharks have emerged as a hot topic of political debate in Western Australia in 2014 after the State government passed legislation earlier this year enabling sharks to be baited and killed in response to recent attacks.
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Photo: ASP
