Alana Blanchard Discusses Psychological Struggles After Seeing Bethany Hamilton’s Shark Attack at Age 12

Following a challenging sixth day on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, professional surfer Alana Blanchard finally has the chance to share her story in the mirror room with DS Billy Billingham and Rudy Reyes. Here, she reflects emotionally on the moment she witnessed her friend, fellow professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, being attacked by a shark when they were teenagers.

Blanchard reveals, “One of the reasons I decided to participate was because when I was 12, my friend was attacked by a shark.” She describes the horrifying incident, saying, “She was lying on her surfboard, a wave passed by, and when it reappeared, her arm was missing, blood was everywhere. It was completely torn off, and she was bleeding profusely the entire time.”

Beginning to cry, Blanchard adds, “It was just a really traumatic experience for me.”

Hamilton, whose remarkable story was portrayed in the 2011 movie Soul Surfer, was surfing with Blanchard and her father on Halloween of 2003 when a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her, resulting in the loss of her arm.

Blanchard says they “didn’t see the shark” or even “think about it” — they “just wanted to save [Hamilton’s] life.”

“When something happens like that, it doesn’t seem real. In the moment, I definitely didn’t react good. I was freaking out,” she recalls to the directing staff. “Me and my dad got her on the beach and I just started throwing up because I think I [was] just in shock.”

Noting that her dad saved Hamilton’s life, Blanchard — now a mom of two — says she wants to learn how to react in those kinds of situations.

“My dad said, like, from that day I was a changed girl. Like, I never was the same. I’m sure there’s some PTSD in there, for sure,” she tells the cameras in her confessional. “Now that I have kids, I want to learn how to overcome those things.”

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.