Legendary jockey brought low in freak surfing mishap

"I thought those ambulance days would be long over."

Now we’ve all read or seen a wide variety of notable folk embracing surfing and its lifestyle. From award-winning actresses and actors like Lady Gaga and Orlando Bloom to royalty like Prince Harry and Ivanka Trump to sporting greats like Lewis Hamilton, but never in all my days, I’ve never heard about a legendary jockey being counted amongst our class.

You can imagine my shock, then, when learning of Damien Oliver and his near fatal surfing mishap somewhere near Torquay.

Initially, I assumed the munchkin was one of Hamilton’s bros, as the headline of the piece, wherein I learned of the very scary scene, read, “Racing legend Damien Oliver hospitalised after surfing accident.”

Clicking through, though, I learned that Oliver was a jock, and not just any jock but a multiple cup winning champion enshrined in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. There was even a biopic made of his life titled The Cup and starring Stephen Curry.

You can imagine my continued shock when learning Stephen Curry was not only one of the best basketball players to ever live but also an actor so diverse that he could play a diminutive Australian.

As it turns, the name is also shared by an Australian actor.

In any case, and back to the incident at hand, Oliver was out surfing and attempted to duck dive when, according to the Daily Mail, his board shot back his way, nearly decapitating him and sending him off to the hospital, or hozzy in regional slang, for fixing.

“I thought those ambulance days would be long over,” Oliver on social media, adding, “Cheers to the medical team at Torquay Urgent Care Clinic and Torquay ambulance services. Also sending thanks to the Geelong Hospital nurses and ENT surgeons for their amazing care.”

A very luck outcome on something that could have been much worse.

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