When NBC Sports announced that it had hired SNL “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost to help cover the surfing competition at this year’s Summer Olympics, there was some skepticism among the chattering classes. Though Jost himself is apparently an avid surfer, unlike most Olympics correspondents, he’s neither an Olympian nor a sports journalist.
But whether it was a stroke of genius on NBC’s part or just dumb luck, it turns out Jost’s lack of expertise—both as a surfer and as a journalist—has led to some of the games’ most memorable extracurricular viewing.
While Jost has indeed participated in NBC’s coverage of the surfing competition in Tahiti, interviewing athletes and providing comedic explainers, it’s his live shots with Olympics Late Night host Maria Taylor that seem to have resonated most with viewers—thanks in large part to a surfing injury Jost sustained before the Olympic Games even started.
Describing his injury to Taylor late last week while standing in a yard filled with wild chickens, Jost explained that “I have some open wounds on my foot from hitting coral reef, and I have actually been walking in place in this yard because if I stand still, ants begin crawling inside the wounds.”
What began as a joke has become more concerning over the last couple of days after Jost developed a staph infection in his foot.
“I’ve been visiting the medical tent regularly,” Jost told Taylor late Monday night. “They started saying ‘We need to see you every day,’ which at first I was like, ‘Oh my god, guys, I like you too.’ And they were like, ‘No it’s because the infection hasn’t improved.'”
While Jost seems to be increasingly miserable with each passing day, at least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor. Asked by Taylor for a joke, Jost replied “Do I have a joke? Uh, yeah. I’m here. Colin Jost is a surf correspondent. That’s the joke… Or, why did the chicken cross the road? To peck at the staph infection in my foot.”
Wishing Colin a speedy recovery! Unfortunately I know what he’s going through. I had a tiny scrape on my ankle that I didn’t even know was there. Long story short, it became staff infected after my doctor sent me to local wound care doctor. Wound up in emergency room a few weeks later. Then Iwoke up in ICU right after that. The infection got into my bones, I was in a coma so doctors had to remove my ankle bone & about 3 inches of my fibula. I felt fortunate to have woken up with a foot. Over 2 years later I’m still not finished healing. I’m not young like Colin. Went through all this at age 76 & still going through at 78 so I heal slower than he will. Sending positive healing vibes & prayers for him!