A competitive surfer counts his blessings after an encounter with a shark has left him temporarily unable to compete in the sport he loves.
Sixteen-year-old Teddy Wittemann is a member of the USA Surfing Junior Team.
The Floridana Beach teen was hanging out with a friend on Friday when he said they decided to hit the waves, just like every other day.
“About 45 minutes, maybe almost to an hour after we were out, the session was good, and we were having fun, and then I caught a wave (and) fell off,” Wittemann said. “My board was collecting the board back, and then just out of nowhere and just got me right here on the inside of my arm.”
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Wittemann believes it was a bull shark.
“It threw me back a little bit off balance,” he said. “So by then, I’m holding on to my surfboard out here while kind of leaning back in the water. and it was along the side of my body to my feet. yeah, just like shaking and thrashing around.”
Wittemann managed to get out of the water and jogged to a neighbor’s house for help. They called paramedics, and Wittemann was taken to the hospital.
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Wittemann’s parents said it was a miracle that there was no irreversible damage to his arm.
Wittemann said he hopes to be back surfing in an event before the end of the year.
“But I’m really not in any rush to, you know, possibly hurt myself or kind of just do it wrong. And yeah, so just waiting. It’s going to take time, but, you know, I’ll be back.”
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