Watch: Pro surfer escapes shark attack during competition

A surfing competition in South Africa was cancelled Sunday after Australian professional surfer Mick Fanning escaped a shark attack on live TV.

Video of the incident at the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League Championship Tour shows two sharks circling the three-time league champion.

A water safety team pulled Fanning and fellow competitor Julian Wilson from the water, reports CNN. Both were uninjured.

Fanning told World Surf League TV he shielded himself with his surfboard and "punched" the shark "in the back" to scare it away.

"I had this feeling that something was behind (me), and all of a sudden I felt like I started getting pulled underwater. And then the thing came up and I was on my board and it was right there," he said.

"I had this thought, 'What if it comes around for another go at me?'" he said. "Before I knew it, the boat was there. ... I can't believe it, I was tripping out. I'm totally tripping out."

After the interview, he was comforted by surfing legend Kelly Slater.

And Wilson had his own recollection of the story.