‘I’ve broken every bone’: Aussie skateboarder’s biggest challenge ahead of Paris 2024
By Josh Bavas
At 21, Gold Coast raised Keegan Palmer has a long list of achievements and almost as many injuries.
He won a gold medal for Australia at just 18 when skateboarding debuted at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Keegan Palmer will represent Australia at the first skateboarding Olympic events in Paris.
He has designed the biggest skate park in the Middle East and travels the world bouncing from one competition to the next.
Now he is on track to repeat his park skateboard mastery at the Olympics in Paris.
But the 21-year-old admits the freestyle sport has taken a toll on his body at such a young age.
“My body, low-key, has been falling apart,” he said.
“So I’ve just been really focusing on making sure my body’s strong and healthy because I’ve had a few injuries in the last year and a half.”
Palmer at the Aljada skate park he helped design in the UAE.
Even before the Games in Tokyo, he had already broken 19 bones.
One of the worst accidents occurred at a skate park in California requiring a titanium plate to be implanted in his leg.
“I’ve broken my right femur, both ankles, both wrists, collar bone and knocked myself out a few times,” he said.
“You’ve gotta accept the fact that injury is part of skating; you gotta be ready for it.
An artist impression of the Parc Urbain la Concorde pop-up at Place de la Concorde.Credit: Paris 2024
“If I can have my body strong, be mentally strong, and have the tricks that I have, I should be alright.”
The “goofy-footed” park skateboarder is currently ranked 5th in the world, after podium finishes last year at both the X Games Men’s Park Final in California and the World Skateboarding Tour in Argentina.
A younger Palmer (second from right) with his father.
He currently splits his time between Queensland and San Diego with his family.
“I owe a lot to my mum, dad and little brother, they’ve been very supportive my entire life,” he said.
“My dad was my supporter and my coach from when I started skateboarding until around 17-18 [years old] and then I switched to do my own thing but it’s been a blessing to have him.”
Olympic skateboarding has two competitions in Paris 2024: park and street, which will be held in temporary pop-up venues along the historic Place de la Concorde.