Surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore has been taken to hospital after being bashed with a metal pole by an intruder at her Tweed Heads apartment.
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The world champion, 22, was attacked by a man as she walked to a set of stairs leading to her unit around 9.30pm last night.
She suffered a fractured wrist and cuts to her head and hand.
A traumatised Gilmore is recovering at home today, according to Marine Cole, a spokeswoman for the surfer’s major sponsor, Rip Curl.
“She’s not talking to people today, she’s obviously a bit shook up,” she said.
A man has been refused bail and will appear in Tweed Heads local court on January 10.
New South Wales police would not confirm the victim's identity, but allege a man struck a 22-year-old woman twice with the metal pole before fleeing the area on a pushbike.
Police said the man later returned to the apartment complex. Friends and neighbours of the victim spotted and detained him.
"They managed to detain the man until the arrival of police who arrested him," said police.
He was taken to Tweed Heads Police Station where he was charged with numerous offences including wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
A Tweed Heads Hospital spokeswoman said a 22-year-old woman was treated at the hospital last night and later discharged.
Last month Gilmore sealed her fourth consecutive Association of Surfing Professionals world title when she reached the quarter final of the women's event in Puerto Rico.
