That’s a wrap for Olympics Surfing Commentator Colin Jost.
The SNL “Weekend Update” co-anchor and avid surfer had been reporting for NBC Sports this past week from Tahiti where the surfing competition was being held, but apparently left the island before Friday’s surfing quarterfinals.
It’s not clear whether Jost’s much-talked about Olympic ailments led to his early departure. The finals had originally been planned for mid-last week before hazardous surf conditions in Tahiti forced their delay, so it’s possible that outside scheduling conflicts played a role.
After cutting his foot while surfing ahead of the start of the Games, Jost revealed that he’d developed a staph infection in his foot. Days later, he woke up with an ear infection.
Speaking with Mike Tirico in his last live shot for the Games on Tuesday, Jost explained that he was under strict doctor’s orders to keep both his head and his feet out of the water. At the time, he said he’d also been told he couldn’t fly for two days.
Jost’s departure was only briefly referenced on the air over the weekend with NBC Olympics Late Night host Maria Taylor saying at the top of her Saturday night show that Jost had left Tahiti.
With Jost gone, NBC Sports tapped Aussie meteorologist and radio personality Luke Bradnam, who was in Tahiti covering the surfing competition for Australia’s Channel Nine, to take his place. “I got a phone call as the surfing came back online, it was literally just, ‘Colin’s not able to work it, could you please fill in for us?,’” Bradnam told The Sydney Morning Herald.
It appeared that Jost’s original plan was to fly to Paris after the conclusion of the surfing competition in Tahiti. Time will tell if he finds his way there in the coming days.
