Australian professional surfer Mick Fanning was eliminated from Billabong Pro in Teahupo’o, Tahiti on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Fanning lost to Spaniard Anitz Aranburu after scoring 5.17 and 1.50 points. It was Fanning’s first time competing since surviving a shark attack in July 2015.

"It was great to get back in the singlet and focus on the surfing again,” said 34-year-old Fanning. “There has been so much hype about the incident at J-Bay, so much media attention and I just wanted to move on - it happened, we can talk about it later... maybe a story when I'm old."

Fanning, whose nickname is White Lightning did good on his first round, which he attributed to being in the right place and the right time. On Tuesday, the Aussie could not find the right barrels.

Prior to entering Billabong Pro, Fanning switched from using a “Yum Yum Yellow” colored surfboard to a bright blue board. He uploaded a YouTube video to let fans know why he decided to switch up the design and color of his board. He learned from research that sharks were attracted to bright objects. Fanning had used bright yellow boards all year long.

"Sharks approached things that are yellow and white but the yellow appears as a shade of grey, and is brighter against a background of blue or black,” said Professor Nathan Hart from Macquarie University to ABC. “The sharks can't see the color, but they can see a bright object against a background. If you're presenting a dark silhouette to a shark, you could be mistaken for a seal."

Fanning was attacked by a great white shark two minutes into the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay, Africa on July 19. The shark swam next to Fanning. He reacted by punching the shark and using his board to wedge distance. The shark bit off Fanning’s ankle leash which was attached to the board.

Julian Wilson, Fanning’s competitor swam towards him to help. An emergency response team scared the shark away with a boat and picked up both surfers. Wilson and Fanning were both awarded the finals victory. Fanning said that he was “lucky it wasn’t” his time. Wilson said that he was “just happy” that Fanning was alive.