By Rory Carroll
May 28 (Reuters) – Nyjah Huston, widely regarded as the greatest street skateboarder of all time, said on Thursday he had suffered a fractured jaw, cheekbone and lacerated kidney in his latest injury setback.
The American skateboarder, who fractured his skull and eye socket in a training accident in January, disclosed the injuries in a social media post that included photographs of him in a hospital bed and X-rays of his damaged skull.
“Was the plan to not end up back here for some time but here we are,” Huston said.
“Another knockout, fractured jaw/cheek bone, lacerated kidney. I’m sure there’s tons of people see this happen again and think ‘Damn this dude’s an idiot and never learns his lesson’ or the classic, ‘Told ya you shoulda started wearing a helmet’,” he said.
“Those are the people that don’t understand the minds of us skateboarders and how dedicated we can be. We don’t put ourselves thru the torture and pain for money or to prove anything. We do it because it fuels our daily life. One of the reasons I like to say skateboarding is a lifestyle over a sport.”
Huston, who competed at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and won a bronze medal in Paris, is one of the most decorated and recognizable faces in the sport, having won numerous SLS Super Crown World Championships and X Games gold medals.
The 31-year-old California native told Reuters last August that his goal was to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Huston said in his post that his father had introduced him to skateboarding at an early age, an experience that initially left him scared before he grew to love the sport.
“I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing and this is the life I chose,” he said.
“Even in tough times like this I’m thankful as hell I made that decision because nothing beats life on the board. Back at ’em soon. We keep pushing. We keep sending.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Long Beach; editing by Clare Fallon)
