Bethany Hamilton

Early Life
Bethany had a pretty average childhood, she grew up in Hawaii, with her 2 older brothers, and parents. Although she was home schooled, she still has a good education. She loved to surf and ended up learning to surf at about 5 years old!

Challenges
Bethany faced the challenge that when she was 13 years old she had her left arm amputated, to the shoulder, after it was bitten off by a 14 ft long tiger shark.

Successes
Bethany has many awards in surfing. Some of these include Most inspiring Person of the Year award and Woman of the Year from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Successes Despite Their Challenge
She continued to surf and overcome her challenge with a lot of practice.

Supporters
She had her family and friends to help her get back on her feet and help her learn to surf again without her left arm.

Legacy
Her legacy is that she is not only one of the best female surfers, but she does it with only her right arm

Additional Facts

• She has a 2 year old son
• she has her own signature sunglass collection
• She owns 3 shar pei dogs