An early morning swim turned precarious for a man off the coast of Catalina Island when he experienced a close encounter with a shark. According to KTLA, the man, estimated to be between the ages of 50 and 55, was about 12 miles from Catalina Island, engaged in a popular channel swim towards the mainland. The incident was reported to the Los Angeles Fire Department at around 1:30 a.m.
Shaun Corby, a pilot for the LAFD Fireboat, described the shark as "about a three to four-foot white shark" that "just nipped at his leg and his foot and then took off," in a statement obtained by KTLA. The victim had commenced the swim at midnight, a typical start time for those attempting to complete the 20-mile journey, and had made it halfway before the shark bite occurred.
The swimmer's pace boat crew was quick to respond, providing first aid treatment and notifying authorities. As per CBS News Los Angeles, the response team met with the LAFD boats at sea, where the swimmer had his injuries, classified as minor, wrapped before he was brought back to shore. The man was subsequently transferred to a local hospital for further medical attention.
The Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which includes the Catalina Channel swim, is a prestigious set of accomplishments in the long-distance swimming community. While these endurance tests are renowned for their difficulty due to strong currents and Pacific swells, encounters like this with marine life are not common. Corby reaffirmed the rarity of such an event, stating that shark bites are "super rare" in these waters. Indeed, fire officials add that there have been only about 200 documented cases of shark bites in the entire state of California since 1950, with about 15 of those occurring in the Los Angeles region.
