CrossFit coach Kerrie Olsen shares scar photo amid recovery from brain injury

Kerrie Olsen’s latest photo put a hard truth on display: the SKOL CrossFit owner in Riverton, Utah is still healing from a golf cart crash that left her with a severe traumatic brain injury and a subdural hematoma. The scar across her skull made the recovery visible, and for the people who know Olsen best, it also showed how far she has already come.

Olsen, 39, was vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with her husband, Paul, and friends when the cart tipped over on a golf course after going over a hidden sand trap. Friends said the accident happened fast and turned catastrophic just as quickly. Olsen needed emergency brain surgery in Mexico and was placed in a medically induced coma in an ICU near Puerto Vallarta before doctors stabilized her enough to move her.

The medical evacuation back to Utah came on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, and the work still did not stop there. By Friday, May 8, her GoFundMe said the breathing tube had been removed, she was “coming back,” and physical therapy had begun. That progress was encouraging, but it also underscored the long runway ahead for an affiliate owner whose job depends on energy, consistency and being present on the gym floor.

Then came another setback. On Monday, May 11, 2026, Olsen underwent another surgery after her original skull piece was not suitable for reattachment. Later updates said surgeons attached a custom ceramic skull piece. That kind of turn tells the real story here: a brain injury does not end when the plane lands home, and the return to coaching is measured in small medical wins, not a quick comeback.

The Riverton community has responded like a CrossFit box usually does when one of its own gets hit hardest. Local reporting said the air ambulance needed a full ICU team and would be expensive, and the fundraiser for Olsen’s care topped $100,000 by May 11. Friends described her as the “heart and soul” of the gym and “everybody’s sunshine,” which is exactly why her absence has landed so heavily at SKOL CrossFit. For members and staff, the challenge now is keeping the affiliate steady while Olsen fights through a recovery that will not be rushed.