Bethany Hamilton

**Bethany Meilani Hamilton** (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional surfer and writer. She is known for surviving a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off. She returned to 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 movie _Soul Surfer_ was released.

## Early life

Hamilton was born on February 8, 1990, to Tom and Cheri Hamilton in Lihue, Hawaii. She has two older brothers, Noah and Timothy. After learning how to surf at the age of three, Hamilton began surfing competitively at the age of eight and gained her first sponsorship by age 10. Hamilton was home-schooled from sixth grade through high school by her mother, a housewife, while her father was a waiter at a town café.

## Personal life

In early 2012, Hamilton met youth minister Adam Dirks through mutual friends. They became engaged in 2013. The couple married on August 18, 2013, at an estate on Kauai's north shore, near where Hamilton grew up. They have four children (three sons and a daughter). Their marriage is featured throughout her documentary, _Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable._ Along with being a professional surfer, Hamilton now offers mentorship classes on faith, healing, personal health, and relationships.

## Books

Hamilton has published nine books, and her mom has also published one about her story.
|Book title|Authors|Year published|class="unsortable"|Plot|class="unsortable"||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|__|,  and|2004||style="text-align: center;"|||
|__|rowspan="3"||2006, reprinted in 2011||style="text-align: center;"||
|__|2007||style="text-align: center;"||||
|__|2007||style="text-align: center;"||||
|__|/|2011||style="text-align: center;"|||
|__|Bethany Hamilton, Dustin Dillberg|2014||rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;"|||
|__|Bethany Hamilton, Doris Rikkers|2014, reprinted 2016|||||
|__||2018|||||
|__||2018||style="text-align: center;"|||
|__||2022||style="text-align: center;"|||

## Outreach programs

Hamilton is involved in numerous charitable efforts, including her own foundation, Friends of Bethany, which reaches out to amputees and youth, encouraging them to overcome difficulties by offering hope through Jesus Christ. Using her platform as a professional athlete to promote living a fit and healthy lifestyle, Hamilton authored the book _Body and Soul_ in 2014. In 2019, a surf documentary was made about her, _Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable_, which was accompanied by a photo book and a children's book.

Within the Friends of Bethany Foundation, there are four different programs:

- Beautifully Flawed: retreat designed for young women ages 14–25 who have experienced traumatic limb loss. Six events hosted annually through this program which include: guests speakers, practical health and wellness tips which specifically account for limb loss, postural training, and surf lessons.
- Shine Forth: Night filled with stories and inspiration to overcome, free community event to gather together and share comeback stories. Bethany also does a book signing at this event, which is hosted annually.
- Anchored in Love: Conference for girls and young women ages 12 and up, one day event designed to help girls and young women discover their true beauty, purpose, and worth. Event is held annually in San Diego and features several guest speakers.
- The Forge: Men's retreat where young male amputees come and focus on faith, fitness, and healthy living. This program is run by Bethany, her husband, and friend/mentor Mike Coots.

## Surfing career

|colspan="4;" style="background:green; color:white; text-align:center;"|Placings in surf competitions||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1998||rowspan="4"|||
|2002|NSSA||||
|2004|rowspan="2"||||
|2005|rowspan="6"||||
|2006|||||
|2006||4th<hr>3rd|||
|2007||rowspan="2"|||
|2007|||||
|2008|US Open of Surfing—Huntington Beach, California||||
|2008|Roxy Pro Surf Festival—Phillip Island||||
|2008|||||
|2009|Rio Surf International in Rio de Janeiro||||
|2009|||||
|2009|||||
|2009|||||
|2010|||||
|2011|||rowspan="2"||
|2012|||||
|2012|||||
|2012|||||
|2013|||||
|2014|||||
|2014|||rowspan="2"||
|2015|||||
|2016|||||
|2016|||rowspan="2"||
|2017|||||
|2017|||||
|2018|Surf Ranch Pro–Lemoore, CA|rowspan="2"|rowspan="2"||
|2018|||||
|2020|||||
|2021|||rowspan="4"||
|2021|||||
|2022|||||
|2022|||||

## Infobox (surfer)

- **child**: yes
- **height**: 5 ft 11 in
- **stance**: Goofy
- **weight**: 154 lbs
- **best year**: 2016
- **major achievements**: ESPY Award (2004)
National Scholastic Surfing Association, NSSA National Helping Kids Champion (2005)
2nd place, Association of Surfing Professionals, ASP World Junior Championships (2008)


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Bethany Hamilton
- **image**: Bethany Hamilton surfing (sq cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Hamilton surfing in 2016
- **birth name**: Bethany Meilani Hamilton
- **birth place**: Lihue, Hawaii, U.S.
- **children**: 4