An Amazing Story: Former NFL Player Survives 16 Hour Emergency Swim
Continue reading here: ESPN.com
PLANTATION, Fla. -- The former NFL fullback entered the room with a wobble in his walk, and needed assistance climbing a podium so he could face a media throng and discuss his death-defying 16-hour swim to shore.
Rob Konrad sipped from a bottle of water, his efforts to rehydrate ongoing four days after the episode. His wife sat at his side rubbing his leg in support, and tears welled in their eyes as he spoke Monday.
"Happy to be here," he began with a wry smile.
"I shouldn't be here," he said later, his voice cracking.
The 38-year-old Konrad's escape was a testament to willpower and world-class athleticism. The first reports of his adventure last week received worldwide attention.
"It's an incredible story," endurance swimmer Diana Nyad said. "Taking his life in his hands and deciding he was going to save himself, I admire him."
Konrad, who played for the Miami Dolphins from 1999 to 2004, had been around boats since his childhood on Boston's North Shore. So he knew what it meant when he fell off his 31-foot Grady-White while fishing alone nine miles from land.
"A boater's nightmare," he said.
He swam to Palm Beach, covering a distance of 27 miles before ringing the doorbell of an oceanfront home for help at 4:30 a.m. Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard last week provided a brief summary of the events. Konrad, still weak after several days in the hospital for treatment of hypothermia and dehydration, held a news conference to fill in the details.
They were hard to believe, he and his wife agreed.
"It was a miracle he made it home," Tammy Konrad said.
Her husband said he was taking his boat for servicing last Wednesday and decided to do a little fishing along the way. He had caught a large fish and was tending to the Rob when a large wave hit, flipping Konrad into the ocean.
His boat was on autopilot and headed east. There were no other boats in sight. Konrad wasn't wearing a life preserver. It was 12:30 p.m.
"I realized I was in some real trouble," he said.
Rob Konrad sipped from a bottle of water, his efforts to rehydrate ongoing four days after the episode. His wife sat at his side rubbing his leg in support, and tears welled in their eyes as he spoke Monday.
"Happy to be here," he began with a wry smile.
"I shouldn't be here," he said later, his voice cracking.
The 38-year-old Konrad's escape was a testament to willpower and world-class athleticism. The first reports of his adventure last week received worldwide attention.
"It's an incredible story," endurance swimmer Diana Nyad said. "Taking his life in his hands and deciding he was going to save himself, I admire him."
Konrad, who played for the Miami Dolphins from 1999 to 2004, had been around boats since his childhood on Boston's North Shore. So he knew what it meant when he fell off his 31-foot Grady-White while fishing alone nine miles from land.
"A boater's nightmare," he said.
He swam to Palm Beach, covering a distance of 27 miles before ringing the doorbell of an oceanfront home for help at 4:30 a.m. Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard last week provided a brief summary of the events. Konrad, still weak after several days in the hospital for treatment of hypothermia and dehydration, held a news conference to fill in the details.
They were hard to believe, he and his wife agreed.
"It was a miracle he made it home," Tammy Konrad said.
Her husband said he was taking his boat for servicing last Wednesday and decided to do a little fishing along the way. He had caught a large fish and was tending to the Rob when a large wave hit, flipping Konrad into the ocean.
His boat was on autopilot and headed east. There were no other boats in sight. Konrad wasn't wearing a life preserver. It was 12:30 p.m.
"I realized I was in some real trouble," he said.
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