Colin Jost Reveals the Tough Injuries That Ended His Olympic Coverage Dreams

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Tens of thousands of athletes flocked to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, but surfers — along with reporters — were traveling nearly 10,000 miles from mainland France to catch waves in Tahiti. NBC enlisted Colin Jost as a special correspondent to help cover the events, but it wasn't exactly a trip to heaven Saturday Night Live star.

A few days after the Olympics began, Jost scraped his foot on a coral reef, which left him with some wonky open wounds. “I was just walking in this garden because if I stay still, the ants start getting into the wounds… which was not what I expected,” he told commentator Maria Taylor.

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A few days later, Jost joked that he saw more medics on the field at Teahupo'o than athletes competing at the Games, partly because he had developed an infection in his foot.

“I visit the medical tent regularly. It's a strange feeling when you're in the medical tent with so many more athletes than athletes. I feel like a war correspondent and I say, 'Hey, Army, can I get a Band-Aid?'” he joked. “I think at this point the medical personnel, they know my name, they know my badge ID number pretty well, they know I'm allergic to penicillin.”

He explained that medical professionals told him they needed to start seeing him every day because the infection wasn't clearing up. When Taylor asked him to tell a joke, Jost immediately stood up (no pun intended).

“Am I joking? I'm here. Colin Jost is a surf reporter. That's a joke,” he said, expressionless. “Or why did the chicken cross the road? To peck at the staph infection in my foot.”

NBC sent Jost home ahead of the surfing finals, handing the broadcasting job to Australian broadcaster Luke Bradnam. The surfing competition ended on August 5. Neither the network nor Jost released a statement explaining the decision.

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