Sentiments for Mick Fanning and his family

As we learnt earlier today, Mick Fanning woke up this morning not only to defend his world title push at scary Pipeline, but also to discover the tragic news that his older brother, Peter, had died in his sleep (more about that here). Despite the crushing emotion of a loss like this, Mick went out and won two heats that, on paper, you’d have never expected him to win – first against Jamie O’Brien, and second against Kelly Slater and John John Florence. He’ll now retreat and allow himself to deal with his brother’s passing, before stepping back into the thunderdome tomorrow and facing Kelly Slater (again) in the quarterfinals.

Stab asked some fellow competitors for their thoughts about and sentiments for Mick…

Mr O’Brien. WSL/Kelly Cestari

Jamie O’Brien: “Y’know, I didn’t know about that, pre-heat. I mean, obviously it’s not really my business, but it’s really sad. I’ve always been a fan of Mick, he’s a good guy. I didn’t know what he was going through during the heat. I don’t ever want to know that feeling and I really feel for him and his family and wish them the best. When I saw him in the water, I tried to tell him ‘Yeah, Mick!’ and he was real short. I try not to get caught up in that stuff, I didn’t know if he had his golden competition jacket on, but obviously there was more going on than just that.”

Mr Kerr. WSL/Kirstin Scholtz

Josh Kerr: “It’s totally devastating. I saw his mom earlier and gave her a huge hug and shed a tear with her. It’s a bummer, their family’s been through so much already. Hopefully something good could come out of this event after the rough year he’s had. He deserves it.”

Mr Ho. WSL/Laurent Masurel

Mason Ho: “Owen and Mick’s family, I pour my whole heart out for them. I’m glad the day went that way for Mick. I didn’t do enough to dedicate anything anywhere, but if I could I would dedicate all my happy feelings and all my good vibes to that family. To Mick and everyone. I’m so happy it’s gone this way, I’m sure he’s everyone’s favourite, it’s the way he does it, y’know? If you don’t like Mick, then you’re an evil person.”

Mr Slater. WSL/Kirstin Scholtz

Kelly Slater: “It’s a long year. You never know what’s going to happen or how it’s gonna go down. My condolences to Mick’s family and to Mick, my heart goes out to those guys dealing with some heavy stuff right now. I mean, look, I’m here supporting Mick as a friend. And out in the water I was just telling him, hey, just focus, good luck, and have fun, try to put everything out of your mind, y’know? All the pressure and personal things, and just everything going on, it’s hard to compete at your top level, but he did that today, and that’s why he’s a multi world champ and why he’s staring down another one right now. It’s a win-win for me, if I beat him I get a chance to win the contest, and if he beats me, he might win the world title.”