Bethany Hamilton - wikipedia Bethany Hamilton Bethany Hamilton Hamilton in 2007 Bethany Meilani Hamilton ( 1990 - 02 - 08 ) February 8, 1990 ( age 27 ) Lihue, Hawaii, U.S. Residence Kauai, Hawaii, U.S. Height 5 ft 11 in ( 1.80 m ) Weight 155 lb ( 70 kg ) Surfing career Best year 2005 Sponsors Rip Curl Major achievements ESPY Award ( 2004 ) NSSA National Helping Kids Champion ( 2005 ) 2nd place, ASP World Junior Championships ( 2008 ) Website bethanyhamilton.com Bethany Meilani Hamilton - Dirks ( born February 8, 1990 ) is an American professional surfer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off but who ultimately returned to -- and was victorious in -- professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer : A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In April 2011, the feature film Soul Surfer was released. Contents 1 Surfing career 2 Shark attack and recovery 3 Media 4 Personal life 5 References 6 External links Surfing career Placings in surf competitions Year Event Place Country 1998 Rell Sun Menehune 1st USA 2002 Open Women 's Division of the NSSA 1st USA NSSA National Competition 1st Australia 2005 NSSA National Competition 1st USA 2005 O'Neill Island Girl Junior Pro tournament 1st USA 2006 NSSA National Championship : 18 - and - under Finalist 5th USA 2006 Hawaii Team Highlights 4th 5th * USA 2007 NSSA Regionals 1st USA 2007 T & C Pipeline Women 's Pro 1st USA 2008 US Open of Surfing -- Huntington Beach, California 5th USA 2008 Roxy Pro Surf Festival -- Phillip Island 3rd Australia 2009 Rio Surf International in Rio de Janeiro 3rd Brazil 2009 Billabong ASP World Junior Championship 2nd Australia 2014 Surf ' n ' Sea Pipeline Women 's Pro 1st USA 2015 Swatch Women 's Pro 13th USA 2016 Fiji Women 's Pro 3rd Fiji Shark attack and recovery On October 31, 2003, Hamilton, aged 13 at the time, went for a morning surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai, with best friend Alana Blanchard, Alana 's father, Holt, and brother Byron. Around 7 : 30 a.m., with numerous turtles in the area, she was lying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling in the water, when a 14 - foot - long ( 4.3 m ) tiger shark attacked her, severing her left arm just below the shoulder. The Blanchards helped paddle her back to shore, then Alana 's father fashioned a tourniquet out of a surfboard leash and wrapped it around the stump of her arm. She was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. By the time she arrived there she had lost over 60 % of her blood and was in hypovolemic shock. A doctor living in a hotel nearby raced to the rescue. Her father, who was scheduled to have knee surgery that morning, was already there, but she took his place in the operating room. She spent a week in recovery before being released. During subsequent media interviews, she confirmed that she felt normal when she was bitten and did not feel much pain from the bite at the moment of the disaster, but felt numb on the way to the hospital. When the news broke out of the shark attack, a family of fishermen led by Ralph Young presented to investigators photos of a 14 - foot - long ( 4.3 m ) tiger shark they had caught and killed about one mile from the attack site. It had surfboard debris in its mouth. When measurements of its mouth were compared with those of Hamilton 's broken board, it matched. In late 2004, the police officially confirmed that it was the one that attacked her. Despite the trauma of the incident, Hamilton was determined to return to surfing. One month after the attack, she returned to her board. Initially, she adopted a custom - made board that was longer and slightly thicker than standard and had a handle for her right arm, making it easier to paddle, and she learned to kick more to make up for the loss of her left arm. After teaching herself to surf with one arm, on January 10, 2004, she entered a major competition. She now uses standard competitive performance short - boards. The shark - bitten surfboard that Hamilton was riding during the attack, as well as the bathing suit she was wearing at the time, a gift from ocean photographer Aaron Chang, are on display at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, California. Media Since the attack, she has appeared as a guest on numerous television shows. Her manager, Roy `` Dutch '' Hofstetter, who went on to produce the film Soul Surfer, managed her rise through the media from shark attack victim to inspirational role model. The television shows she has appeared on include The Biggest Loser, 20 / 20, Good Morning America, Inside Edition, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, and The Tonight Show, as well as in magazines People, Time, and American Girl. Additionally, she was the cover story in the premier issue of niNe magazine. In 2004, she won the ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete and also received the Courage Teen Choice Award. In 2004, MTV Books published Hamilton 's book, Soul Surfer : A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board ( ISBN 0 - 7434 - 9922 - 0 ), which describes her ordeal. Her story is also told in the 2007 short subject documentary film Heart of a Soul Surfer, directed by Becky Baumgartner. Described as a `` faith - based documentary, '' the film addresses her devout Christianity and the courage and faith in Jesus Christ in the aftermath of the shark attack, and follows her quest for spiritual meaning. On August 7, 2009, she was a contestant on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader ? and won $25,000. On May 16, 2010, she appeared on an episode of ABC 's Extreme Makeover : Home Edition. In March 2011, Hamilton appeared in a video for the Christian organization I Am Second, telling of her struggle after the shark attack and how she trusted in God to get her through it. On April 8, 2011, a feature film Soul Surfer, based on her 2004 book, was released in theaters. Hamilton was portrayed by actress AnnaSophia Robb. Hamilton herself performed all the one - armed surfing stunts in it. The movie was released on DVD and Blu - ray on August 2, 2011. On October 11, 2011, she appeared on the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, in the episode titled `` Duggars Under the Sea, '' when the Duggar family visited her, in Atlanta, Georgia. Hamilton plays herself in the film Dolphin Tale 2, which revolves around the baby dolphin Hope 's story. Filming began in Clearwater, Florida, on October 7, 2013. It was released on September 12, 2014. Hamilton and her husband, Adam Dirks, competed as a team on the 25th season of The Amazing Race, finishing in third place. Filmed in June 2014, it premiered on September 26 on CBS. Personal life Hamilton was home - schooled from 6th grade and went back to school for high school. Bethany is a Christian. She is the youngest of three siblings. In early 2012, Hamilton met youth minister Adam Dirks through mutual friends. They became engaged in April 2013. The couple were married on August 18, 2013, in front of 300 friends and family members at a secluded 130 - acre estate on Kauai 's north shore, near where she grew up. She and Adam competed on The Amazing Race 25 where they placed in the top 3. In 2015, Hamilton gave birth to a son. References Jump up ^ `` Prizes & Placing - 2015 Swatch Women 's Pro ''. Jump up ^ `` Results - 2016 Fiji Women 's Pro ''. Jump up ^ `` About ''. Bethany 's General Biography. BethanyHamilton.com. 2003. Retrieved September 17, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Homeschool World - Articles - Soul Survivor : The Bethany Hamilton Story - Practical Homeschooling Magazine ''. Home-school.com. 2003 - 10 - 31. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ Clark, Mark ( September 24, 2011 ). `` Soul Surfer Interview With Bethany Hamilton ! ''. WhatCulture !. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Bethany Hamilton -- Amputee Surfer The Injury Cooperative ''. Theinjuryco-op.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ Guy Bagley. `` Current Exhibits ''. Surfmuseum.org. Retrieved August 19, 2013. Jump up ^ Museum Exhibit ( Permanent Exhibit ). `` Courageous Inspiration : Bethany Hamilton '' Archived September 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. California Surf Museum. Retrieved 6 September 2016. Jump up ^ `` Shark attack survivor discusses products and jewelry lines in new mag '' by Lanaly Cabali, The Garden Island, June 30, 2006. Jump up ^ `` The 2004 ESPY Awards winners ''. ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2012. Jump up ^ Silverman, Stephen M. ( August 9, 2004 ). `` Lindsay Lohan Top Teen Choice Awards ''. People. Retrieved December 15, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Heart of a Soul Surfer ''. Walking on Water. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Heart of a Soul Surfer : The Bethany Hamilton Movie ''. Retrieved June 8, 2007. Jump up ^ Pilkington, Maria ( September 27, 2011 ). `` Bethany Hamilton ( Soul Surfer ) Interview ''. The 405. Retrieved December 15, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Bethany Hamilton Appears in New ' Dolphin Tale 2 ' ''. 2014 - 06 - 17. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Cast features survivor veterans, surfer Bethany Hamliton ''. 2014 - 05 - 31. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Bethany Hamilton : About ''. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Jump up ^ Dodd, Johnny ( March 28, 2014 ). `` Bethany Hamilton : My Husband Keeps Me Surfing ''. People. Retrieved March 28, 2014. Jump up ^ Webber, Stephanie ( August 18, 2013 ). `` Pro Surfer Bethany Hamilton Marries Adam Dirks ''. Us Weekly. Retrieved August 18, 2013. Jump up ^ Wicks, Krista ( May 7, 2013 ). `` Surfer Bethany Hamilton Engaged ''. Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton Engaged to Wed Youth Minister Adam Dirks ''. 12 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bethany Hamilton 's Official Wedding Photo ''. Retrieved June 22, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton Gets Married to Christian Youth Minister Adam Dirks ''. 18 August 2013. Jump up ^ Herreria, Carla ( June 15, 2015 ). `` Bethany Hamilton Introduces New Baby Boy With Adorable Family Photo ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2015. External links Official website CBS News interview Bethany Hamilton Video produced by Makers : Women Who Make America Bethany Hamilton and the Teeth of the Tiger Surfer Girls - Bethany Hamilton Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award winners 1993 : Winfield 1994 : Lemieux 1995 : Marino 1996 : Jordan 1997 : Holyfield 1998 : Clemens 1999 : Davis 2000 : Armstrong 2001 : Galarraga 2002 : Capriati 2003 : Maddox 2004 : B. Hamilton 2005 : Fields 2006 : Bruschi 2007 : no award given 2008 : J. Hamilton 2009 : Torres 2010 : Clijsters 2011 : Herzlich 2012 : Stafford 2013 : Peterson 2014 : Westbrook 2015 : Gronkowski 2016 : Berry 2017 : Nelson The Amazing Race Original U.S. version Seasons 5 6 7 8 : Family Edition 9 10 11 : All - Stars 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 : Unfinished Business 19 20 21 22 23 24 : All - Stars 25 26 27 28 29 Contestants Versions outside the U.S. Asia 5 Asia contestants Australia 3 : Australia v New Zealand Australia contestants A Corrida Milionária Canada 5 Canada contestants China Rush China Rush contestants China French version HaMerotz LaMillion 5 6 HaMerotz LaMillion contestants Latin American version 4 : Edição Brasil 5 6 : Ecuador Latin American version contestants Norge Norge contestants Philippines Philippines contestants Velyki perehony Vietnam 2 : Celebrity Edition 3 : Celebrity Edition 2 4 : Celebrity vs. TAR Fans Edition 5 : All - Star Edition Related Shanghai Rush The Ridonculous Race VIAF : 258879303 LCCN : no2004106026 GND : 131425889 NDL : 00989697 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bethany_Hamilton&oldid=799072897 '' Categories : 1990 births Living people Bethany Hamilton 21st - century Christians 21st - century women writers The Amazing Race contestants American amputees American autobiographers American Christians American disabled sportspeople American sportswomen American surfers American television personalities American women writers Amputee sportspeople Female surfers Participants in American reality television series People from Lihue, Hawaii Shark attack victims Sportspeople from Hawaii Women autobiographers Homeschooled people in the United States Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from August 2013 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aragonés تۆرکجه Български Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 5 September 2017, at 13 : 36. 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Question: where did the girl get her arm bitten off
Answer: Tunnels Beach, Kauai