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Bethany Hamilton, surfer and shark attack survivor, welcomes first child

The "Soul Surfer" has given birth to a boy.

By Kate Stanton
Bethany Hamilton and her husband, Adam Dirks, have welcomed their first child. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
Bethany Hamilton and her husband, Adam Dirks, have welcomed their first child. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

KAUAI, Hawaii, June 15 (UPI) -- Pro surfer Bethany Hamilton and her husband, Adam Dirks, have welcomed their first child.

Hamilton, who lost her left arm in a 2003 shark attack, announced Monday on Instagram that she gave birth to a boy, Tobias, on June 1.

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Hamilton, who lives in Hawaii with Dirks, wrote that Tobias was named after his great-grandfather. She said the name means "goodness of God."

"Adam and I so in love with our lil guy and are stoked to share life with him! #stokedmomma," Hamilton wrote.

Hamilton, now 25, was 13 when she was attacked by a tiger shark while surfing with a friend. She eventually returned to competitive surfing and wrote about her experience in an autobiography, Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board.

Hamilton married Dirks, a youth minister, in 2013.

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