New mom Hamilton gets wild-card surf spot

Less than six months after the birth of her second child, Bethany Hamilton will compete in the Surf Ranch Pro as a wild-card participant, the World Surf League announced.

The event, the eighth stop on the WSL’s Championship Tour, runs Sept. 6-9 at the artificial wave complex in Lemoore, Calif.

Hamilton’s son, Wesley, was born in March. A film, “Unstoppable,” featuring her life story as a 13-year-old who lost an arm to a shark attack premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

“I’m so excited to be competing in the Surf Ranch Pro,” the 28-year-old Hamilton said in statement issued by the WSL.

In her last wild-card appearance, the Fiji Women’s Pro in 2016, Hamilton reached the semifinals, eliminated by eventual WSL champion Tyler Wright.

“We’re thrilled that Bethany has been awarded the wild card for this historic event,” WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said in a statement. “She’s both a world class surfer and an inspirational woman and we can’t wait to see her performance at the Surf Ranch.”