A teen skateboarding prodigy has been injured in a horror fall, tumbling headfirst from her board and breaking her finger.
Chloe Covell, who represented Australia at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, hit the deck while competing at the Belco Jam skateboarding competition in Canberra last month, news.com.au reported.
Footage posted on her Instagram page shows the fall from several angles. As Covell attempts a 50-50 grind down a raised rail, she loses her balance mid-trick and flips forwards into the dirt.
The 16-year-old is later seen walking away with the third finger on her right hand bent out of place at an awkward angle, before appearing again smiling after it was bandaged up.
The injury later required surgery after she apparently used her hand to brace the impact of her fall.
In a social media post captioned “Oof... #brokenfinger #hallofmeat #belco #skatefails”, Covell shared X-ray images showing a screw had been inserted to stabilise the finger.
Covell was 14 when she placed eighth in the women’s street skateboarding event at the Paris Olympics, qualifying for the finals in fourth place after impressing judges in the early rounds.
She was unable to replicate that form in the final, failing to land several technically ambitious tricks, reports news.com.au.
“I tried my best. You know, I just couldn’t land much,” she said through tears in a post-match interview.
“I wanted to keep trying and not give up. It was very hard work to get here, but I tried my best, and I just got to come back better and stronger.”
Covell is the daughter of former Cronulla Sharks and one-test Kiwis winger Luke Covell.
Last year, she claimed her third consecutive gold placing at the X Games, scoring 90.66 out of 100.
Competitors have 45 seconds on a course featuring kerbs, stairs, handrails, benches and quarterpipes to complete their runs.
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