Chris Davidson (1 January 1978 – 24 September 2022) was an Australian professional surfer.

Early life and career

Davidson grew up in

North Narrabeen North Narrabeen is a suburb in northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 25 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Northern Beaches Council. North Narrabeen ...

on the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...

of Sydney. Davidson's early career faltered due to injuries, family problems and drugs. In the late 2000s, he turned his career around and won several tournaments. Davidson competed on the Men's Championship Tour in 2010 and 2011. His best result was third behind

Kelly Slater Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is als ...

at the 2010

Rip Curl Pro Portugal MEO Pro Portugal formerly known as ''MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal'', ''Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal'' or ''Rip Curl Pro Portugal'' is a professional surfing competition of the WSL World Tour held every year in October at the Supertubos beach in Peni ...

; he was ranked 14th overall on the 2010 world tour.

Death

On 24 September 2022, Davidson was punched outside South West Rocks Country Club in

South West Rocks, New South Wales South West Rocks is a town located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, near the mouth of the Macleay River. It is approximately from Kempsey. Jerseyville is located nearby. The population of South West Rocks is 5,313 peo ...

, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. He was taken to Kempsey Hospital, where he died a short time later at age 44. A 42-year-old man, Grant Coleman, was later arrested and charged with assault causing death, and refused bail. Coleman pleaded guilty and received a five year jail sentence.

References

External links

* 1978 births 2022 deaths Australian surfers Violent deaths in Australia World Surf League surfers Sportsmen from New South Wales Sportspeople from Sydney Deaths from head injury {{Australia-surfing-bio-stub