Swimmer Sees 'Eyeball To Eyeball' With Great White Shark In An Attack

KTLA5Steven Robles was attacked by a shark near Manhattan Beach Pier on Saturday morning, sustaining injuries to his right hand and chest.

Long-distance swimmer Steven Robles survived an attack by 7-foot great white shark while training in Southern California waters on Saturday.

Robles, 50, was with more than a dozen other swimmers when the predator surfaced. "He made a very sharp left and lunged right at my chest," ;Robles said in an interview with KTLA5. "I was staring eyeball to eyeball with the shark."

Robles said he felt a crunch going right into his chest and thought "that was it." But Robles fought back. He pushed the shark's nose and the animal immediately released its grasp, he said.

In footage from the incident you can hear people from shore screaming for swimmers to get out of the water once the shark is spotted.

Robles was released from the hospital on Sunday and his now recovering at home.

See an interview with Robles in this clip from KTLA5: