Pro Surfer Shawn Dollar Has Broken His Neck in Four Places

Pro surfer Shawn Dollar is lucky to be alive after breaking his neck while surfing in perilous conditions off of the central coast in California.

Dollar, known as a surfer of the world’s largest waves, was rushed to hospital after hitting his head on a rock and breaking his neck in four places during the Titans of Mavericks surf contest on Monday, Reuters reports.

“I’m so thankful I’m alive and present today. Being surrounded by my loved ones through this time has been paramount for me,” Dollar said in a statement issued by contest organizers.

The 34-year-old father of two has not suffered any paralysis and is in stable condition, according to a statement issued on the Titans of Mavericks Facebook page.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Dollar made history when he dropped in on a 61-foot (18.6-meter) wave at the Cortes Bank, a reef 100 miles (160 km) west of San Diego.

[Reuters]