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Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawks is already making progress after breaking his leg just over a week ago.
On Thursday, the 53-year-old Hawk tweeted video of himself walking without crutches and announced that his goal is to be back skating by May:
Hawk previously announced on March 8 that he suffered a broken femur, although he gave a positive outlook at the time:
Per TMZ Sports, the injury was career-threatening, but Hawk expressed his belief that he would be able skate again, saying:
"I've said many times that I won't stop skating until I am physically unable. A broken leg— with plenty of hardware—will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I'll be back ... maybe not at full capacity, but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached 'mid-life.'"
Hawk is widely considered the greatest skater of all time, and he is undoubtedly the most popular and well-known skateboarder in the history of the sport.
While Hawk has largely been retired from competitive skateboarding since 2003, the former X Games star and innovator of the "900" trick still competes on occasion.
Hawk is perhaps best known for his beloved video game series Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which debuted in 1999 and remains a hot seller, as the game was remastered for current consoles in 2020.
Hawk will turn 54 on May 12, and based on the comments he made Thursday, he has an eye toward getting back on a board by then, which would be just two months after breaking his leg.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk revealed on Instagram that he suffered a broken femur.
"Yesterday sucked," the 53-year-old Hawk wrote in part on IG.
"I broke my elbow 20 years ago and managed to make a full comeback; this recovery for a broken femur will be much harder because of its severity (and my age). But I’m up for the challenge."
Per TMZ Sports, Hawk suffered the broken femur while skating, but it's unclear exactly what led to the injury. Video showed Hawk on the road to recovery walking down a hospital hallway on crutches.
He ended his IG post as follows:
A broken leg—with plenty of hardware—will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I’ll be back... maybe not at full capacity but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached “mid-life.” Thanks to my unyieldingly supportive, tolerant family—and all of you—for the love and support through the years; I wouldn’t be here without you. See you on the other side.
Hawk is one of the most decorated skateboarders in the sport's history and undoubtedly its most popular and iconic one. He won 10 Summer X Games gold medals during his decorated career and notably became the first-ever person to complete a documented 900:
Hawk is also the namesake for the popular video game series, which began in 1999 with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
He is also the founder of The Skatepark Project.
Let's not sugarcoat it: This is a strange one.
Liquid Death Mountain Water, partnering with Tony Hawk, created a limited run of 100 skateboards that will be decorated with paint infused with the skateboarding legend's blood.
Yes, you read that correctly:
For fans who want the product, well, no dice. The bloody boards have already sold out on Liquid Death's website. They retailed for $500.
So just to reiterate, skateboards with a small amount of Hawk's blood infused into the paint design were being sold for $500, and 100 people were like, yup, shut up and take my money. You can't make this stuff up.
Professional skateboarder Terry Kennedy has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating a man to death in Illinois.
The DuPage County State Attorney's Office told TMZ the charges were filed Monday after a man Kennedy allegedly assaulted died over the weekend. Kennedy was previously arrested on several charges related to the alleged assault of Josiah Kassahun at an Illinois motel on July 27.
Court records say Kennedy is said to have punched Kassahun in the head before kicking him in the torso when he was on the ground. The medical examiner said Kassahun died of blunt-force trauma to his head.
Kennedy was initially charged with aggravated battery in a public place. He was also facing charges of criminal trespass, theft of a woman's debit card, jacket and SUV and obstructing a police officer.
In addition to those charges, Kennedy is accused of violating his bail bond for allegedly kicking in the door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment. Police also added a count of threatening a public official after Kennedy allegedly threatened to kill officers.
Kennedy is best known for making several appearances on MTV shows such as Viva La Bam and is the co-founder of the Fly Society clothing line.
Josiah Kassahun, the man allegedly attacked by skateboarder Terry Kennedy at an Illinois motel Tuesday, has died from his injuries. He was 23.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the news to TMZ Sports on Sunday. Kennedy, who was arrested and charged with aggravated battery in a public place and threatening a public official, could now face a manslaughter or murder charge as a result of Kassahun's death, per TMZ.
No further information about what caused the alleged attack, which led Kassahun to suffer a fractured skull and concussion, has been released.
A police spokesperson told TMZ that Kennedy made nine threats to officers who apprehended and booked him into jail.
"I will kill one of you police. We kill police where I'm from," Kennedy said, according to the spokesperson.
Posts on social media showed Kennedy and Kassahun had hung out in the past, per TMZ.
Kennedy, 36, starred on the BET reality show Being Terry Kennedy in 2010. He also appeared on several MTV shows, including Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Viva La Bam.
The skateboarder, a native of Long Beach, California, was also one of the athletes on the roster for the video game Skate and its subsequent sequels.
Six years ago, Rayssa Leal was perfecting her heelflip.
Now she's an Olympic medalist.
The 13-year-old Brazilian won a silver medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo this week in the street competition. While she was narrowly defeated by another 13-year-old, Japan’s Momiji Nishiya, Leal became the talk of the Olympics after many shared a video of her doing a heelflip in a fairy costume.
Skating great Tony Hawk originally shared the clip in 2015.
"Six years ago [Hawk] introduced me to the world of skateboarding by sharing my video wearing a fairy costume," Leal wrote in a gallery of photos of herself and Hawk on Saturday, via Karenna Meredith of PopSugar. "Today, he filmed me at the Olympics."
The women's street final in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo became a battle of the 13-year-olds as Momiji Nishiya edged out Rayssa Leal for gold Monday.
It's a men's and women's double for Japan after Yuto Horigome took first place Sunday.
Funa Nakayama joined her compatriot on the podium to give the host country two medalists.
Women's Street Final
Gold: Momiji Nishiya, Japan (15.26)
Silver: Rayssa Leal, Brazil (14.64)
Bronze: Funa Nakayama, Japan (14.49)
4th: Alexis Sablone, United States (13.57)
5th: Roos Zwetsloot, Netherlands (11.26)
6th: Zeng Wenhui, China (9.66)
7th: Margielyn Didal, Philippines (7.52)
8th: Aori Nishimura, Japan (6.92)
Expectations were high for Pamela Rosa entering the Olympics. The 22-year-old Brazilian is the No. 1 women's street skater in World Skate's official rankings, and she was a gold medalist in street at the 2019 World Skateboarding Championship.
In a surprising development, Rosa was unable to qualify for the final. She suffered three falls in the best-trick portion, and her two completed tricks weren't good enough to propel her up the leaderboard. She placed 10th with a combined score of 10.06.
Leticia Bufoni will likely be disappointed with her result as well. The No. 4-ranked street skater finished one position ahead of Rosa and missed out on the final.
With Bufoni and Rosa out, it was on Leal's shoulders to carry the flag for Brazil. Despite her age, she wasn't overawed by the occasion. She also bounced back nicely from falling in the first round of best trick, helping to set up a dramatic finish.
With one round left in best trick, 0.25 points separated the top three skaters, and the trio of Nishiya, Leal and Nakayama were the final three skaters to go.
With Leal and Nakayama failing to land a trick, Nishiya ultimately didn't need to do anything to secure gold. But she earned 3.43 points anyway to pad her final tally.
The native of Osaka, Japan, dominated best trick. She and Leal were the only two skaters to hit three tricks, and she totaled 12.24 points from that segment of the event.
Alexis Sablone was the lone American in the final. With 4.53 points from the street run, she needed something special in the best-trick category to climb onto the podium.
Sablone fell in the last two rounds, leaving her unable to chase down Nakayama for bronze.
In general, adding skateboarding to the offerings at the Olympics provided the sport an opportunity to showcase its best talent to an audience that may otherwise not watch the X Games or world championships.
It's difficult to imagine a better outcome for street skating than having two teenagers lead the way in Tokyo. Nishiya and Leal are poised to shine for years to come.
Yuto Horigome has made history as the first-ever skateboarder to win an Olympic gold medal.
The Japan native finished in the top spot in the men's street competition with a total score of 37.18. Kelvin Hoefler won the silver medal, followed by Jagger Eaton grabbing the bronze.
This year marks the first time for skateboarding as an Olympic event. Saturday's run will be a historic moment for the sport, as well as all 20 semifinalists who competed in Tokyo.
Men's Street Result
Gold: Yuto Horigome (Japan), 37.18
Silver: Kelvin Hoefler (Brazil), 36.15
Bronze: Jagger Eaton (United States), 35.35
4th: Vincent Milou (France), 34.14
5th: Angelo Caro Narvaez (Peru), 32.87
6th: Aurelien Giraud (France), 29.09
7th: Nyjah Huston (United States), 26.10
8th: Gustavo Ribeiro (Portugal), 15.05
Horigome made it through qualifying in sixth place, well enough to get into the final. He was hurt by posting just one score of 9.0 or better among the top four scores used to calculate his total.
Since the top eight made it through, Horigome started with a clean slate in the final. The 22-year-old made the most of his second opportunity in the trick portion of the competition.
Horigome already held the top spot heading into his final trick with a score of 35.90. He was able to improve on that by landing his signature grind for a score of 9.30 that bumped his overall total up to 37.18.
As it turns out, that was the right strategy for Horigome. Hoefler posted his best trick score of the round on his final run (9.34) and would have taken over the top spot if Horigome had been conservative or failed on his final trick.
The Olympic gold is the culmination of a long process for Horigome, who has long since established himself as the best street skater in the world. He won gold at three World Skate League events in 2018 and the 2019 X Games.
Eaton had to settle for the bronze after crashing on his final trick attempt. The American star had a rough go in the finals overall. He failed to land three of his five trick attempts, forcing him to take a zero as one of his top four totals.
Given the final margin of victory, if Eaton had been able to land one of the three tricks that missed, he would have had a gold medal. The Arizona native did post the highest individual score on a trick in the final (9.40) when he nailed this grind:
Eaton was still able to walk away from the street skateboarding with a medal. The same can't be said of Nyjah Huston. The top-ranked skater in the world had a tough day in the trick portion of the competition.
Factoring in the semifinals, Huston failed to land six of his 10 trick attempts. He missed each of his final four tricks in the finals to finish in seventh place overall.
A 12-year-old from Brazil landed the first 1080 on a non-mega vert ramp on Friday and he got to do it alongside his childhood idol.
As Tony Hawk made a surprise appearance during Vert Best Trick at the X Games in Vista, California—the 53-year-old's first X Games event since 2003—Gui Khury became the youngest person in tournament history to win a gold medal.
Khury was stunned, telling reporters he never imagined skating alongside Hawk, let alone competing against him.
He would make an immediate impact on his idol, landing a 1080 in competition 22 years after Hawk landed his iconic 900. The side-by-side of the two feats show both how far the sport has come and Hawk's impact on its growth.
Khury became the first skater to land a 1080 on a traditional competition-size vert ramp as an 11-year-old in 2020.
On Friday he made even more history. With Hawk running to his side to celebrate as soon as Khury's run was over.
