“Could’ve Been Career Ending”: 54-Year Old Skateboarding Legend Tony Hawk Recalls Traumatizing Experience of His Worst Injury

Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk is a household name in the sport. He is known for his spins and tricks up the ramp. The skateboarding pioneer has been the National Skateboarding Champion for 12 consecutive years and is one of the greatest skateboarders of all time.

In his long and fruitful career, Hawk has not only gained many titles and accolades, but also some severe injuries. In a recent interview with Steve Berra and Eric Koston, Hawk revealed his worst injury, which almost ended his skateboarding career. Here’s a sneak peek into what went down.

Tony Hawk’s worst injury

In March 2022, Tony Hawk incurred one of the worst cases of a fracture. The skateboarder attempted a ‘McTwist’ – a trick where a front flip is combined with a 540-degree rotation. The trick went horribly wrong when the legend failed to land at the correct moment and broke his foot. He recalled, “I could just feel it disconnect. Like I literally could feel it apart from my body.”

Hawk was then rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery and he got a titanium rod in the leg to get up and move again.

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Since he injured his pelvis about 20 years ago, he also got some reinforcements to help with that. The star athlete revealed that his doctors were extremely optimistic and encouraging. They instructed him to move around as soon as possible, in order to avoid chances of atrophy. However, healing was a tough journey.

Road to healing for Tony Hawk

Even after being able to walk post-surgery, Hawk noted how he struggled to figure out balancing his body and trusting his feet again. He confessed that walking for extensive periods at a time made him limp. This injury was probably one of his worst injuries yet since it affected his career. The icon said, “This was super traumatic and could’ve been career-ending in a lot of ways.”

The skateboarder is, however, bouncing back on his ramp. Working with his physical therapist, Hawk has been able to do a few tricks that he’s comfortable with.

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Although performing tricks is a bit harder than usual, seeing the champion persevere is inspiring. While Hawk still struggles sometimes, he has come a long way since his surgery.