Bethany Hamilton Research Paper

890 Words2 Pages

Bethany Hamilton is a very inspirational woman, who became a pro surfer with only one arm. On the morning of October 31, 2003 Bethany went surfing with her best friends family and a fourteen-foot tiger shark at a beach in Ha’ena attacked her. Surprisingly she started surfing just one month after the accident. She has books and movies, such as the popular 2011 film Soul Surfer based on her journey. Even though Bethany lost her left arm in a shark attack, she was able to overcome it, and become a pro surfer while inspiring everyone around her. (Tim Ott, Biography) At 13 years old Bethany’s surf career was just taking off but the lose of a left arm will affect it all. She had gone surfing with her best friend Alana Blanchard and Alana’s family …show more content…

Bethany made an incredible comeback, from winning surf competitions, writing books, and staring on awards or TV shows. In 2004 the Surf Industry Manufactures Association awarded her with “Wahine O Ke Kai” which means Women of Sea. Two years after losing her arm she won the U.S. national under 18 surf championships, and in 2008 she spent her first full year full time surfing on Women’s Qualifying Series Pro. In the same year she was ranked 14th in the entire world. In ’09 at the ASP World Junior championships in Australia she placed second. Bethany has won many awards such as, courage awards, Best Comeback, and the Mildred Babe Dirdikson Zacharias award. She has stared on the Biggest Loser, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, The High Dive, The Amazing Race, and was a cameo in Dolphin Tale 2. She published an autobiography in 2004 called Soul Surfer, and her second one, Body and Soul, was published in 2014. Bethany launched a foundation, Friends of Bethany that is for shark attack victims, amputees, and inspiring people. She is also working on a project called Surfs like a Girl, which is a film to highlight her as one of the best women surfers in the world. (Bethany

More about Bethany Hamilton Research Paper

Open Document