Mick Fanning's mum watched shark attack live on TV: 'I thought we'd lost him'

• Mick Fanning attacked by shark
• Surfers react with shock
• Fanning very fortunate: Beachley
• ​Fanning's friend Julian Wilson hailed as hero

Mick Fanning's mother was watching her son compete in the final of the J-Bay Open on live television from her Tweed Heads home when she saw the unmistakable shape of a shark's fin emerge behind him in the water.

Her heart leapt and, as the ocean churned around her son, she instantly feared the worst.

"I was absolutely terrified. Absolutely terrified. I thought we'd lost him," an emotional Elizabeth Osborne said on Monday morning, following a sleepless night contemplating what might have been.

"It seemed like about half an hour. I just couldn't imagine him coming out of it, you know? It was like slow motion."

Feared worst: Elizabeth Osborne, Mick Fanning's mother.Credit: Channel Nine

Incredibly, the 34-year-old champion surfer managed to punch the shark in the back, and paddled away furiously and on to the back of a jet-ski to safety.

Near tears, he was shown embracing fellow competitor Julian Wilson and 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater. The event was cancelled, the competition points split between Fanning and Wilson.

They are seconds that Ms Osborne said would never desert her, and ones she wished never to experience again.

"I watch every heat, I've watched every heat of Mick's since he started [surfing]," Ms Osborne said.

Mick Fanning looks to the skies in thanks after explaining to Kelly Slater (right) what he went through. Credit: World Surf League/Kelly Cestari

"He has always had dolphins around him, but I don't know, he has never had a shark like that ... to see that huge fin.

"I spoke to him last night, soon after. He's fine. Very shaken, very, very shaken, and I said to him 'You're not doing the final now are you?'

Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark during the J-Bay Open, managing to punch and kick it away.Credit: World Surf League

"He said: 'There's no way we're going back in the water.'

"Who cares about the points at the moment?"

The other Mick Fanning with rescuers after the shark attack.Credit: World Surf League

On reflection, she said her son was "so brave" for punching the animal on the back. It was an action a shark expert told Fairfax Media might have saved his life.

However, in the panic of the moment, Ms Osborne said she could only think about the possibility that she might be watching her son lose his life. It was made worse by the fact that, just after the shark knocked Fanning off his board, a wave blocked the camera angle so that viewers could not immediately see what was happening to him.

"I was too overwhelmed to even think about what was going on for Mick, I just saw my boy going down and, you know, that was absolutely terrifying because I have lost a son before," she said, referring to the death of Mick's brother Sean in a car accident in 1998.

Mick has previously said that he believes Sean was the "angel on my shoulder" during his career, in which he has claimed three world surfing titles.

Ms Osborne said she had not slept a wink all night, and had been receiving phone calls of support from family and friends all around the world.

"It's just so amazing. I haven't had any sleep at all because I've had phone calls from our family in Ireland, New Zealand, all over the world, all his friends. He has got so many friends. He is so well loved and it's just been so beautiful and so amazing," she said.

Ms Osborne said she had been told earlier in the night that there were boats out in the water with sounders, trying to ensure there were no sharks in the competition area.

"This one was there. But I thank the shark very much [for not killing him]," she said.

She also praised the "amazing efforts" of the event organisers for getting the surfers out of the water so quickly, and calling off the final.

As far as her son's future career is concerned, she said she would support any decision he made.

"Our motto is 'We never give up and we never give in', and we will just wait and see what he does," she said.

"He has had a huge injury before and, you know, lots of tragedy in his life. This is just another challenge to get over, and I know he will."

Asked what she would do when she saw her son again, Ms Osborne said: "I will throw my arms around him and hug him so tight, and he will do the same to me, I know."