Five near-death sporting incidents

MICK Fanning was thankful to be alive after his very close encounter with a deadly great white shark. These athletes know that feeling of relief all too well.

This handout picture made and released on July 19, 2015 by the World Surf League (WSL) shows Australian surfer Mick Fanning (L) looking up after he was attacked by a shark during the J-Bay Open final in Jeffreys Bay. Mick Fanning, 34, was competing in the final heat of a world tour event at Jeffreys Bay in the country's Eastern Cape province when a looming black fin appeared in the water behind him. He fought back against the shark, escaping from the terrifying scene without injury. AFP PHOTO / WSL / KELLY CESTARI ==RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / WSL / KELLY CESTARI" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS==

IN THE wake of Mick Fanning’s close call with a great white shark at Jefferys Bay overnight, we take a look at some of the most shocking near-death sporting incidents in recent memory.

FOOTBALLER SUFFERS HEART ATTACK IN FA CUP

UNFORTUNATELY for professional football, there have been a number of cases worldwide of athletes suffering heart attacks while on the pitch. None, however, have been on such a grand scale as that of Fabrice Muamba in the FA Cup quarter-final between Bolton and Tottenham. During the 2012 match, just a few minutes before half-time, the Bolton midfielder collapsed in the middle of the field. Muamba received numerous defibrillator shocks on the pitch and in the ambulance, where his heart actually stopped for a total of 78 minutes. Muamba spent almost a month in hospital before announcing his retirement from professional football.

RUPTURED ARTERY IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLLISION

PRIOR to making it in the NFL, Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden was involved in a collision that should have ended his life.

During a practice session with the University of Houston in 2012, both Hayden and teammate Trevon Stewart were competing for the ball when they came together mid-air with bone-crunching force. Immediately unable to breathe, Hayden had been struck in the chest by Stewart’s knee, rupturing his vena cava — the main artery that carries blood towards the heart. The 22-year-old was rushed to hospital and underwent emergency surgery, where doctors had to saw through his sternum to repair the torn artery — an injury which has a 95 percent mortality rate. After making an astonishingly rapid recovery, Hayden trialled in the NFL pro day four months later and was drafted as number 12 overall pick for the Raiders in the 2013 Draft.

SPINAL DISLOCATION IN MOTOCROSS CRASH

KNOWN as the face of freestyle motocross, Travis Pastrana has pulled off some of the most impressive stunts ever to be completed on a motorbike. In 2006 Pastrana was the first ever athlete to land a double-backflip at the X-Games.

However prior to his worldwide success, a young Pastrana suffered one of the most horrific injuries in motocross history. While practicing for a freestyle competition in Arizona in 1998, the then-14-year-old fell short on a 37 metre jump, crashing into the back of the landing ramp. Pastrana separated his spine from his pelvis, leaving him in a coma for two weeks and wheelchair-bound for three months. According to doctors, the rider was one of just three people in the United States to survive that particular injury.

LOOP OF DEATH NEARLY CLAIMS SKATEBOARDER

WHEN you are attempting to skateboard through the “loop of death” — a 360 degree stunt ramp that launches its rider upside down — it is hard to imagine how anyone could think it would end well. Unfortunately for skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, it did not.

In 2003, while filming for the Jackass spin-off series Wildboyz, Hawk fell from the peak of the loop after being sent into a rapid spiral. The skateboarding icon landed on the side of the ramp, hitting his head on the wood and fracturing his skull. Wearing a monkey suit without a helmet, he was lucky not to suffer serious brain damage. Also managing to break his pelvis and thumb, Hawk took a year off skateboarding following the accident.

SURFER CRUSHED BY WORLD RECORD WAVE

BIG wave surfer Maya Gabeira was attempting to break the world record for the largest wave ever to be riden by a female when she nearly drowned.

Tackling a 24 metre wave in Nazaré, Portugal, Gabeira was thrown off her board after stumbling on the lip of the wave. A monstrous wall of water forced the 26-year-old under, where she was then pummelled by a series of smaller waves. The Red Bull sponsored athlete had all the air pushed out of her lungs before she resurfaced and was dragged ashore by her jet ski driver. Soon after lifeguards on the beach commenced CPR, Gabeira vomited almost two litres of water and started to breathe on her own again.