Rodney Fox was 23 years old and competing to defend his title in the South Australian Spearfishing Championship when something struck him from below.
A nearly 5-meter great white shark attacked him off the coast of Aldinga Beach on December 8, 1963. It broke every rib on his left side, punctured his diaphragm, collapsed one lung, and left his spleen and main artery exposed. He survived by sheer luck: the animal’s teeth became caught in the fishing float tied to his belt, giving him the split second he needed to free himself before drowning. A nearby boat pulled him from the water. It took 462 stitches to close the wounds.
Anyone else would have abandoned the sea forever. Rodney did not. He went diving again, invented the world’s first underwater shark observation cage, and became one of the foremost authorities on great white sharks, dedicating decades of his life to studying and protecting them.
