- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
After a week filled with ball tampering, shattered egos and a generally miffed sporting public, how about we look at one of Australia’s greatest ever athletes?
Mick Fanning. The three-time world surfing champion is about to call it a day, with this week’s WSL Bells Beach competition to be his swansong. And what a fitting one it is, with Mick having won it as a wild card entry when he was 19-year-old to kick start his professional career.
Being somewhat of a national pastime, the professional aspect of surfing has somewhat gone unnoticed in Australia’s mainstream sporting psyche. Not surprising when you have footballers of various codes running into trouble in off seasons or athletes having the odd brain fart to embellish that highly coveted Australian ‘win at all costs’ mentality.
However, Mick ‘White Lightning’ Fanning can in-disputability be called one of our best. It’s not just his humble attitude towards winning (don’t worry, that competitive streak is definitely there), but it is the way Mick interacts with the broader surfing population in general that separates him from other athletes.
His laid back, easy approach makes every fan from the old surf dog to the young grom feel like he could be your best mate.
Born in Penrith to Irish parents, Mick’s appetite for surfing was confirmed when the family moved to Tweed Heads when he was twelve. With 23 WSL Tour wins, Mick’s career has had its peaks and troughs. On paper, 2015 was the year that changed Mick’s attitude to competition and his outlook on life.
The breakdown of his marriage, surviving a shark attack during the final at Jeffrey’s Bay and culminating in the death of his brother just as he was about to compete in the pinnacle of surfing events, the Pipeline Masters, left the surfer feeling drained and deflated. His solution? Take a year off, travel, surf waves outside of the competition bubble and reconnect with the sport he loved.
There is somewhat of a changing of the guard happening in the World Surf League at the moment. The ‘old guys’ on tour are slowly starting the make way for the next generation. It won’t be long before we read headlines stating the likes of Joel Parkinson or the once dominant Kelly Slater are retiring.
And, with the inclusion of the sport at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, surfing is about to be projected into the living rooms of people who may have never seen the ocean.
However, Mick will always be remembered as one of the stalwarts of the early noughties golden generation and no doubt there’ll be a massive tab under the ‘Legends’ section in the history books of surfing dedicated just to him.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.