Davidson, during his participation in the Bakio Billabong Pro surf tournament in 2003. /
The former Australian athlete, who twice won the best surfer in history, later died in a hospital in New South Wales.
Very bad luck. This is what surf legend Chris Davidson, ‘Davo’, has had, who died this Saturday after receiving a punch in the face as he left the pub. The 45-year-old former Australian athlete died shortly after in a hospital in New South Wales, in his native country.
Davidson received a strong punch during the course of a fight and fell unconscious, hitting his head on the asphalt, which, apparently, caused the injury that would cause his death. The ex-surfer was transferred still alive by ambulance, but died shortly after at Kempsey hospital.
Hours later, police arrested Grant Coleman, 42, at his home in South West Rocks as the alleged perpetrator of the assault, who was denied bail. It so happens that the arrested man is the brother of the coach of the NSW Waratahs, a Sydney rugby team.
He won the best surfer in history
‘Davo’, who began surfing on the beaches of northern Sydney, rose to fame when in 1996, at just 19 years old, he beat Kelly Slater, the best surfer in history, on two consecutive occasions. “I lost another soldier yesterday. #RipChrisDavo. I had a lot of good battles with this guy,” the surfer wrote on Instagram, recalling his old rivalry with the deceased, whom he described as a person with “a big heart who made bad decisions.”
After these victories, Davidson turned to his surfing career, competing on the professional world tour in 2010 and 2011. He also participated, within the world surfing circuit, in the Billabong Pro Mundaka tournament in different editions. Likewise, he came to occupy 14th place in the 2010 world tour. The magazine ‘Tracks’ defined him as “one of the most talented surfers in the world” and for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he had “an absolutely prodigious talent and as extravagant as it it was in the water.
The news of his death has fallen like a blow in the world of surfing that last week mourned the death of the young champion Kalani David, who was only 24 years old, due to a heart attack. “Davo was an incredibly talented surfer and a true individual in our sport and community. Our thoughts are with his two children, friends and family of his at this time, “wrote the Surfing Australia account on Facebook.
