As LSU track and field holds its regular season finale this weekend, one thrower is back in full swing less than a year out from a devastating injury.
Leah Acosta is about to complete her first full season with the team as a redshirt freshman after her collegiate debut was cut short in 2024. She had competed in shot put for three indoor meets before her life changed in an instant.
On Feb. 27, 2024, Acosta was crossing Nicholson Gateway on an electric scooter when she struck a piece of metal debris. The scooter’s tire was wedged under it, and she was thrown into the middle of the crosswalk.
“I was super embarrassed, so I got up and I started walking,” Acosta said.Through shock and adrenaline, she was making her way back to her apartment when the pain set in and Acosta looked down to see the trail of blood she was leaving behind.
Now slightly grasping the severity of her injury, she called her trainer to pick her up and survey the damage.
It was then Acosta discovered the source of the bleeding — an open fracture in her right ankle, where the broken tibia had pierced through the skin.
She was immediately rushed to hospital, where she eventually went into emergency surgery. Ultimately, Acosta broke her tibia and her fibula in the incident.Doctors told Acosta her specific injury could take two to five years to fully heal, and for an athlete who had never even suffered a sprain, that was difficult to accept. Yet, Acosta never imagined she’d be ready to compete in 10 months for the 2025 season.
“There was a moment there I thought, ‘I just got here, and I’m gonna be done forever,’” Acosta said.
Physical therapy started then and there – non-weight-bearing for three months and six months of regaining the ability to walk and jump.
Acosta was driven by the will to compete again one day, but first she had to focus on walking again and performing simple, everyday tasks.
“I came to the realization that competing might not be in the books for a while, so let’s just try and get some normality in my life,” Acosta said.
She had a long road to recovery ahead of her, and with her family out west in Odessa, Texas, and her teammates traveling to competitions, the loneliness was hard to manage.
Where she found strength was at church, specifically Christ the King Chapel on LSU’s campus.
