Courtney Hancock recalls her encounter with a shark while training for the Coolangatta Gold

Six years ago while training for the Coolangatta Gold, Courtney Hancock had an encounter with marine life she’d rather forget.

SIX years ago while training for the Coolangatta Gold, Courtney Hancock had an encounter with marine life she’d rather forget.

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Dolphins, turtles and even whales are all fairly frequent sightings out in the depths of the Pacific Ocean though on this day it was hammerhead shark which elected to cross paths with the three-time Coolangatta Gold winner.

Three time Coolangatta Gold and three time NutriGrain Ironwoman champion Courtney Hancock at the launch of the 2019 Coolangatta Gold.Picture: HarvPix

“I’ve been taken out by a shark while I was on my ski,” Hancock said.

“A shark ran into the side of my ski while I was training for this race.

“It flicked its tail up and I started crying because it was very dramatic and I just wanted to get into shore.”

But just when she thought the ordeal was over, the predator came back for another look.

“It started charging back at me,” the Northcliffe star said.

“It kinds of just swum under me and that was it.

“It was a really clear day so I could see that it was a hammerhead.

“I researched them and found out that they can’t really see that well so I think it just thought I was a fish in my pink ski.”

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The 31-year-old has encountered everything from breaching whales to a turtle which tends to frequent the waters of Tallebudgera but nothing will beat the fear she felt when a shark took her fancy.

“The shark was pretty scary,” she said.

After opting not to take on the Coolangatta Gold last year to instead focus on the Nutri-Grain series, Hancock said she is back and searching for a fourth crown.

Courtney Hancock competing in the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships April 6, 2019. Picture: HarvPix

The girl from Sawtell on the NSW mid-north coast has seemingly done all there is to do in the sport of surf lifesaving but Hancock admits she’s still learning more about herself as an athlete more than 10 years after her Nutri-Grain series debut.

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“You go through all different parts of your life as an athlete and you never know absolutely everything about yourself and an athlete,” she said.

“I’ve learnt so much about myself leading into this year.

“I’ve done full weeks which I never thought I’d be able to do leading into this race because it gets tougher year by year.

“I’ve been able to do every training week in full because of my focus on recovery which I haven’t before leading into a Gold.

“I feel like a different athlete to any other time I’ve done this race.”

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