Colin Jost’s job application to be the host of the 2024 Olympic surfing competition in Tahiti probably consisted of a couple Weekend Update reels to prove he was the right guy for the job. He has the delivery, the drive, and the hair to be a perfectly acceptable local sports journalist from Staten Island. He was good to go! But the universe and mother nature really did not want Jost to be the host.
Shortly after arriving in Tahiti for the games, Jost cut his foot on some coral. It happens! “You know it’s going great when you’ve been to the Olympic medical tent more than any of the athletes” He captioned an Instagram photo. But it got worse.
The host then got a staph infection. “I had gotten some open wounds on my foot from hitting the coral reef,” he told Late Nighter, “I have been walking in place in this yard because, if I stay still, ants begin crawling inside the wounds… which was not something I anticipated.”
It gets worse: Jost then developed an ear infection. “I am now on three different medications, four if you count Pina Coladas,” Jost reported from the scene last week. “My new goal is to have as many infections as there are Olympic Events.” He apparently did not make his goal, and has since left Tahiti.
Reuters reported that his departure was unexpected, though the 2024 Olympic Surfing Semifinals and Finals were delayed due to weather, which could have interfered with his schedule.
After Jost’s injuries, Australian weatherman and radio broadcaster Luke Bradnam stepped in to cover the Paris Games, though Deadline says that Jost’s stint was always supposed to be short-lived. The man has a ferry boat to get back to.