Cape Town - 2010 Mavericks champion Chris Bertish, who won the legendary big wave competition off the coast of California after riding what was then the biggest wave ever, a 60-foot monster, admits that there were times he wasn’t sure he’d survive his sport, with that famous skirmish with Mavericks being top of the list.
“There’ve been a couple of times when I’ve come pretty close,” the Cape Town surfer concedes on Wednesday’s episode of The Dan Nicholl Show, on 19:00 on SuperSport 1.
“I’d been travelling 42 hours from South Africa, I hadn’t had any sleep, I’d arrived at 03:00 in the morning, my equipment didn’t arrive and I ended up borrowing equipment,” Bertish recalls.
“I went out to start competing, and within five minutes, the biggest wave I’ve still ever seen in my life... By the time the second and third waves had hit, I’d lost use of my arms and legs, and by the time I got collected on the rescue sled, I couldn’t even speak
“My body had systematically started to shut down, and that was in the first five minutes of my first heat!”
Bertish went on to win the event, and describes how his sport can drag you under water for over a kilometre at twice the speed of Olympic swimmers, demanding enormous physical capabilities to simply survive, let alone flourish in big wave surfing.
Now a motivational speaker and author, Bertish also discusses his attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a stand-up paddle board, a world first that kicks off in December in support of charities that Bertish supports.
Bertish is joined on Wednesday’s show by Stormers and Springbok loose forward Siya Kolisi, who recounts the touching story of being united with his siblings after seven years, discusses the Stormers season to date, and admits to listening to Beyoncé before matches. Comedian Donovan Goliath, host of television show The Great South African Bake-off and co-owner of the newly opened Goliath Comedy Club in Johannesburg, completes the line-up.
There’s also an appearance by Zimbabwean golfer Marc Cayeux, who was almost killed in a car accident six years ago, but after 27 operations has incredibly returned to professional golf.
Watch a Sport24 exclusive clip of Chris Bertish on the show HERE
Catch highlights of Wednesday’s show HERE
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