Mark Philippoussis Might Want to Stick to Tennis; Surfing Nearly Got Him Killed

Five years ago at this time, Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis was in the final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Roger Federer for Federer's first Grand Slam title.

Now Philippoussis is spending more time surfing than playing tennis. He'd probably be better off staying out of the ocean and on the court.
Australia's Daily Telegraph is reporting that Philippoussis was surfing off Bells Beach when things took a turn for the worse:

he got into trouble in the turbulent waters before being dragged into a sea cave while his board was smashed in half, the Nine Network said tonight.
Philippoussis' ordeal began when he paddled out of Winki Pop beach, between Bells Beach and Torquay, on the Surf Coast, southwest of Melbourne, this morning....

"He got swept down, broke his board and took refuge in a cave for, like, two hours, had all his feet cut up and he hurt his hip," [a witness said].

Philippousis is recovering from hip and foot injuries at his parents' home.

Athletes Who Cheated Death

Mark Philippoussis' surfing expedition in Australia takes a turn for the worst on Thursday. The former tennis star nearly dies when turbulent waters smash his board in half and drag him into a sea cave. Philippoussis isn't the only athlete who has come face-to-face with a near-death experience though.

Paul Kane, Getty Images

Paul Pierce, star of the Celtics and NBA Finals MVP, was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back during an altercation in 2000 at a Boston nightclub. Pierce had to undergo lung surgery to repair the damage, but remarkably started all 82 games of the 2000-01 season.

Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE/Getty Images

Former NBA center Manute Bol had to overcome many obstacles throughout his career, but nothing compared to a horrific taxi cab crash in 2004 that left Bol with a broken neck and killed the driver. Bol also had to persevere through financial distress because of the medical expenses.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Motorcross rider Travis Pastrana has lived on the edge for most of his adult life. During a 1998 event, Pastrana jumped a 120-foot ramp and came up short. The brutal crash separated his spine from his pelvis and left him in a coma for two weeks. At the time, Pastrana said that doctors informed him only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after this kind of injury.

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Former NBA player and streetball legend Slick Watts nearly died in 2001 when he contracted sarcoidosis, an inflammation of the lungs. Complications caused him to waste away to 126 pounds and he was hospitalized for 22 days. "I was two seconds from the Holy Land," Watts said.

Jeff Reinking, NBAE/Getty Images

Last year, NFL running back Fred Taylor was a passenger on an unforgettable flight along with two other players in Africa. The plane door on the single-propeller, 15-seat plane that Taylor was aboard flew open at around 6,000 feet, causing panic before the pilot landed at a nearby runway. "I thought that was it," Taylor said. "I put my head down and started praying."

Doug Benc, Getty Images

England soccer player Lee Hendrie was lucky to be alive when his sports car was "ripped apart" in a motorway crash in 2000. Hendrie was taken to a local hospital after the accident and later discharged without injury.

Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images

Offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley had one of the most grueling recoveries in NFL history following a serious knee injury in 2006. Bentley underwent four operations for the injury, the final two to clean out a staph infection and a virus that became so severe that doctors considered amputating his leg. Bentley recently asked for and was granted his release from the Browns.

Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-04-2008 @ 9:19AM

MFlynn said...

I guess he felt invincible. Now he knows better.

Hopefully

7-04-2008 @ 10:50AM

Kurt said...

The ocean is very unforgiving, and must be respected. If it is not, it rears her ugly head and reminds us all how miniscule we all are compared to it.

7-04-2008 @ 11:23AM

laiconna said...

Mark Philippoussis apparently looked death in the face and came out alive. That must have rattled him something fierce. At least he's alive to surf another day if he dares.

7-04-2008 @ 12:24PM

StoneMan said...

Surfing is a very safe sport overall. I have been surfing for 45 years. I almost drowned in heavy kelp in 1968 and almost drowned in Big Waves in Barbados in 1988. Never been hurt though. If you are out of your depth or not in shape you will get in trouble. Now at 55 I surf only Head High Surf anywhere I can. I am still in great shape.

7-04-2008 @ 3:15PM

t.j.gallagher said...

Kurt makes a good point, once in a while the world shows us humans how insignificant we really are compared to the planets immence size and abilities to destroy as well as repair itself. How arrogant of us as insignificant as we are to believe ourselves capable of destroying the planet with the very same co2 gases the earth itself gives off at a 98>2% ratio. globull warming is the single most destructive scam ever perpetrated on the masses by the powers that be. Supposedly the earth itself has been around by some estimates for over 100 million years and it's obviously had much more severe calamities befall it than just a few thousand years of man, with only the last hundred or more industrialized. Please get a clue and stop letting your emotions get the better of yourselves.

7-04-2008 @ 8:19PM

The Ween said...

Maybe he should go back to reality tv dating.

7-04-2008 @ 10:11PM

ricardo said...

that's right kurt, a lot like my mother-in-law.

7-04-2008 @ 10:21PM

Gstumpf said...

Consider adding Scott McCartney's Hahnenkamm crash last January and the Austrian skier who lost his leg in a downhill race in Norway, also this year.

7-05-2008 @ 2:14AM

Kent said...

We all at one time wanted the challenge to face danger and risks. So Mark is no different. There's a certain rush you get doing it. In HS I took a flimsy canvas kayak and paddled out into the ocean to an island about 3-4 miles offshore. The key to the danger was I couldn't swim nor had a life jacket. I made it back exhausted but exhilerated.