Olympic Skateboarder Nyjah Huston Fractures His Skull and Eye Socket After Skating on ‘Massive’ Rail

Olympic skateboarder Nyjah Huston began the New Year in the hospital. 

The 31-year-old athlete announced in a Monday, Jan. 5, Instagram post that he fractured his skull and his eye socket. “A harsh reminder how death defying skating massive rails can be,” he captioned his post.

“Taking it one day at a time,” he continued. “I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day 🙏🏽.”

His post included a photo of him lying in his hospital bed, as well as photos seemingly taken after the accident. Huston added an image of the paramedics and the ambulance at the scene, as they cared for him while he sat on the curb. Another photo showed the pro-skateboarder lying on the ground with a makeshift pillow as men sat by and cared for him.

He was also photographed wrapped in a blanket and wearing bright yellow hospital socks as he rode in a wheelchair outside of HonorHealth medical facility in Arizona.

Huston also shared a mirror selfie that provided a closer look at his bruised and fractured eye socket.

Several people wished him healing messages, including fellow pro-skateboarders. “Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” Tony Hawk wrote.

Ryan Sheckler commented, “Man.. prayers for healing brother!” Dashawn Jordan added, “🙏🏿✨👑.”

Portuguese professional skateboarder Gustavo Ribeiro wrote, “Feel better soon 🙏🏼🙏🏼,” as Brazilian skateboarder Luan Oliveira added, “Heal up G!”

Huston has represented the U.S. at two Olympic Games, first at the Tokyo 2020 Games and then at the 2024 Paris Games, where he earned the bronze medal during the men’s street skateboarding final. At the time, he admitted in an Instagram post that it was “tough” having “a good shot at the win and not pulling through.”

Still, Huston, who also revealed the poor condition of his bronze medal, intends to compete at the upcoming 2028 games in Los Angeles.

“I’m stoked for the L.A. Olympics. I’m definitely going to try my best to be there. I plan to be there,” Huston told Reuters in August 2025. “It helps having the extra motivation that it’s in Southern California where I’ve lived for so long and where skateboarding really thrives. It’s SoCal living.”