Australian survivor of shark attack describes encounter as "fighting a dinosaur"

A Sydney woman who survived a shark attack described the moment she confronted a four-metre great white shark, before attacking it with punches.

Last June, Leah Stewart, 34, was dragged underwater at Coogee Beach, after a shark bit her in the thigh and arms, causing severe bleeding and severe injuries that required the amputation of her left arm.

In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Stewart, a mother of one, revealed that her daughter was the motivation behind her clinging to survival, saying: “I was saying to myself, ‘You are not going to take me away from my daughter,’ and then I turned to the shark and started punching it over and over again. It was like fighting a dinosaur.”

Moments before the attack, Stewart had finished her usual Saturday morning swim and was heading back toward the beach when she sensed imminent danger.

"I heard a girl behind me let out a shrill scream. I turned around, and there was a huge fin behind her. It was huge," she told Nine Network's "60 Minutes."

She added: “I looked at its size and realized it was not a dolphin.”

Turning around, Stewart realized the shark "was very close. It was getting closer and closer."

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The shark's face was "terrifying" with its small, shiny black eyes, and the size of its teeth and jaw.

“We were face to face,” Stewart said, and at one point the shark was no more than 30 centimeters away.

Despite that terrifying moment, Stewart remained calm.

In her interview, she expressed what was on her mind at the time, saying: “I use my right hand, so I thought: ‘Let’s throw a left punch.’”

She continued: “I suddenly extended my left arm, and the shark pounced on my forearm and tore my skin, my muscles, everything. There was a big gap between my forearm and my hand.”

The shark began pulling Stewart underwater, holding her leg in its jaws.

She said while fighting back tears: “I thought: ‘This is the end, this is how I will die.’ Then I thought of my daughter (August), and I said to myself: ‘She will not have a mother. She will grow up without a mother.’”

“I knew I couldn't leave her. I know this sounds strange, but I pulled myself together.”

The shark's resistance was like "hitting a brick wall," but it continued unabated.

“I must have punched him really hard and he let me go. It was the hardest thing in the world, but I survived.”