“My Body Was Shaking Uncontrollably”: Former NFL Star Survived a Freak Accident by Swimming 16 Hours to the Shore in 2015

In 2015, Robert Konrad went through one of the most chilling ordeals imaginable. Konrad fought for his life as he was thrown off his boat in a freak accident while he was fishing in the ocean. This was only the start of his problems because that fall off the boat led to the beginning of a 16-hour-long nightmare for Robert Konrad.

Currently working as a financial advisor but a former NFL football fullback for the Miami Dolphins, Konrad had to fight in the ocean all alone without any aid for 16 hours, and at one point, he wasn’t sure if he could make it.

Robert Konrad talks about the incident

According to ESPN, in 2015, after the incident, a press conference was held where Robert Konrad made an appearance to talk about the entire incident in grave detail. His boat was on auto-pilot and kept heading west. Konrad told at the press conference that he was alone on the boat ride for fishing between Lighthouse Point and Riviera Beach. Suddenly, a large wave sent him over the side of his boat. As Konrad was not even wearing a life preserver, he instantly realized he was in dire straits and swung off to deep waters.

Konrad walked in with a limp because of the injuries he sustained, and told everyone in a broken voice, “I shouldn’t be here.” This is probably true considering the hardship that he went through. It is something that not everyone could make out of the situation alive. Kudos goes to his willpower to live and the strength which was a product of his athleticism because that is probably what saved him in the first place.

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Even though he was brought up in Boston which accounted for him being familiar with boats as he spent enough time at Boston’s North Shore during his childhood, one’s fate is an inevitable circus. As the Miami Dolphins player reached the shore, his body stiffed. Recalling the moment of relief, he said, “The problem was I couldn’t walk. My body was shaking uncontrollably. I crawled up on the beach and warmed myself up enough to be able to walk.”

Konrad’s troubles did not end at the shore

To put the numbers straight, Robert Konrad had to swim 27 miles to the shore after he fell into deep waters at 12.30 p.m. He thought he would freeze to death before that. But he thought about how “he had two angels on his back” and that gave him the strength to keep going.

What made the ordeal even worse was that he was almost rescued twice. Once a fishing boat went past him, but he couldn’t flag it down. The second time his hopes went up was when Konrad saw a rescue helicopter searching for him. However, they moved on and that was the most disheartening moment for him.

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When he saw lights and landmarks along the coast, that was the final push he needed. Once he felt rested enough to start walking again after he reached the shore, he gathered enough strength to go ring the bell of a beachfront house. Willpower and courage coupled with hope came through for the man when nothing else did.