She does not perform well because she cannot stay on the board long enough to go out and catch a competitive wave, so Malina wins the competition.ĭisappointed at this loss, Bethany decides to give up competitive surfing and her friendship with Alana is strained following an argument. When 'Inside Edition' offers to provide Bethany a prosthetic arm in exchange for an interview, she angrily rejects it when she learns it won't help her surf because it's not weight bearing, as a result of the size of her arm stump.īethany eventually re-enters the competition, telling her rival Malina not to go easy on her & she rejects a five-minute head start offered by the judges. Bethany perseveres and after a recuperation period, she gets back in the water & learns how to surf with one arm.

Bethany's injury prevents her participating in the Rip Curl photo shoots, but she wishes Alana well. The Hamiltons are grateful to Holt for his quick and active thinking and decisive action that saved her life. The onslaught of paparazzi also proves to be a great strain on Bethany's family and their privacy. Besides losing her left arm, Bethany also lost 60% of her blood and Dr. David Rovinsky is called to the emergency room to treat Bethany. Just before starting Tom's knee surgery, Dr. Holt, Alana, and Byron get her out of the water where Holt makes a tourniquet out of his swimshirt to put on her while Byron calls 911 as Cheri is also informed.Īn ambulance meets them on the way to the hospital.

The shark unexpectedly attacks Bethany, ripping off her arm below the shoulder. As Bethany is dangling her left arm in the water, a tiger shark is swimming just under her surfboard and notices her arm floating in the water. The following day, Tom goes to the hospital for knee surgery & the girls go surfing with Alana's father Holt and brother Byron. In the competition, Bethany and Alana place first and third place respectively. Bethany's church youth ministry leader, Sarah Hill is disappointed when she has to withdraw from a planned mission trip to Mexico because of the contest. Set in 2003, teenager Bethany Hamilton lives in Kauai, Hawaii with her parents Tom and Cheri and two brothers her Noah and Timmy.Īll of them are surfers, but Bethany and her best friend Alana Blanchard have grown up with a passion for the sport and enter a competition. Spoiler warning: The following contains plot details about

Soul surfer trailer