Mick Fanning Hit By Second Family Tragedy After Older Brother Dies

Australian surfing champion Mick Fanning‘s older brother Peter has died in his sleep overnight.

Mick was informed of the tragic news just hours before he paddled at the Pipeline surf break in Oahu, Hawaii to battle for the world title, where he managed to beat local wildcard Jamie O’Brien and claim the highest score of the heat, progressing to round four.


SURFER magazine broke the news on Facebook:

This year has presented more ups and downs for Mick Fanning than most can fathom. Today, he woke to the news that his…

Posted by Surfer on Wednesday, 16 December 2015


Mick, the youngest of five siblings, tragically lost another brother Sean in a fatal car crash in 1998.
He’s yet to comment on Peter’s passing, but a spokesperson from his sponsor Rip Curl asked the media to respect the Fanning family’s privacy as they grieve.

“This is a sad and unfortunate incident and is a private matter for the family to deal with,” the statement read.

“We ask that the media respect their privacy. But we can confirm Mick’s older brother Peter has sadly passed away. We will not be commenting further.”


A cause of death is not yet known at this stage.
Source: News Corp
Photo: Mark Kolbe / Getty.

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