Jared Trainor, 31, recovers from shark bites in hospital
(Picture: GoFundMe / Haley Martino)A surfer told how he survived a terrifying shark attack by kicking it in the head while being dragged under water.
Jared Trainor, 31, suffered gruesome bites on his right thigh and leg during the horror at Centerville Beach, Northern California on Sunday.
Mr Trainor was knocked off his board by the animal which then clamped its jaws down on his right limb, he told local media in Humboldt County.
Once below the surface, the experienced surfer grabbed the shark’s body with one hand and kicked at its head with his free leg until it let him go and swam away.
Shocked Mr Trainor returned to the beach where he borrowed another surfer’s mobile to call for help.
“I don’t remember the initial contact,” he told the Times-Standard newspaper. “It kind of happened so quickly.
“I’m grateful to be alive. And I love surfing so much that I’m hoping this brings a newfound appreciation.”
In hospital, surgeons stapled shut his open wounds, which spanned nearly 19 inches.
Photos of Mr Trainor, who has a five-year-old son, recovering with his wounded leg were posted on the Instagram account of The Shop, a surf store in Arcata.
His sister, Haley Martino, set up a GoFundMe fundraising page saying her brother was bitten by a great white shark.
Later, Mr Trainor celebrated his good luck with a takeaway.
He said: “I probably will think twice before surfing by myself. Some of these locations that have a little bit more sea life are more remote.”
Humboldt County had 16 shark attacks since 1960, according to a 2017 news article in The Sacramento Bee.
