Terrifying moment Paralympic swimmer manages to race away from two SHARKS that were heading straight for him while he trained off of Spanish coast
- Ariel Schrenck’s mother screamed when she saw two fins following her son
- The member of Spain’s Paralympic swimming team had to race to escape
- Happened off Sant Pol beach on Costa Brava, a short drive from Lloret de Mar
A member of Spain’s Paralympic swimming team was forced to out-sprint two sharks after this terrifying encounter off a Costa beach.
Ariel Schrenck went up a gear after hearing his mum shouting from the shoreline when she spotted two tell-tale fins and saw the animals heading in his direction.
The drama happened off Sant Pol beach on the Costa Brava, a short drive from the famous resort of Lloret de Mar.
Ariel, part of the Spanish team that took part in last year’s World Para Swimming Allianz Championships in London, was training at the time.
The sharks were less than 300 feet from him when beachgoers including his parents spotted them.
Ariel Schrenck went up a gear after hearing his mum shouting from the shoreline when she spotted two tell-tale fins and saw the animals heading in his direction
The drama happened off Sant Pol beach on the Costa Brava, a short drive from the famous resort of Lloret de Mar. Pictured, Mr Schrenck is followed by two fins
Incredible footage of the scare showed Ariel speeding up in the water to try to reach rocks before they caught up with him.
The 19-year-old, still trying to get back to top form after weeks of being unable to use a pool or go in the sea because of the coronavirus lockdown, told a Spanish TV interviewer: ‘I stopped for a second to get my breath back when I saw my mum shouting like a madwoman.
‘I felt terrible panic at that moment and began to swim like mad. I think it’s the fastest 100 metres I’ve ever done.’
Ariel’s mum Carolina Martinez told Spanish broadcaster La Sexta: ‘I focused on yelling at him to make him get out of the water.
Ariel, part of the Spanish team that took part in last year’s World Para Swimming Allianz Championships in London, was training at the time. Pictured when he collapsed on the beach after the race to get out of the sea
The sharks (pictured) were less than 300 feet from him when beachgoers including his parents spotted them
‘It was a very frightening experience.’
The drama occurred a day after police released footage of a giant shark swimming off a beach on the Costa Tropical in southern Spain.
The animal, which they confirmed was more than 26ft long, was filmed from a Civil Guard boat off La Mamola beach on Saturday.
Police confirmed it was a basking shark and warned kayakers and other marine sports enthusiasts not to approach it, despite that type of shark being described as non-aggressive and harmless to humans.
Incredible footage of the scare showed Ariel speeding up in the water to try to reach rocks before they caught up with him
Ariel revealed he thought it was the fastest 100m he had ever done as he panicked and started to swim ‘like mad’
It was spotted a 20-minute drive east of the town of Calahonda where a previous sighting of a smaller shark took place on May 3.
The sharks Ariel out-swam are thought to be tintoreras or blue sharks. They have been spotted in the past off beaches including Cala Domingos in Majorca and the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola.
The same type of shark was blamed for an attack on a holidaymaker in Elche near Alicante in July 2016.
The 40-year-old victim was rushed to hospital and given stitches to a wound in his hand.