Direkt vor der Skateboard-Arena am Place de la Concorde There is a sign made for Andy MacDonald. “Old is the new gold,” it says. It was not enough for the 51-year-old to win gold or even a medal at the Olympic Games. After the qualification it was over. The crowd still went crazy and celebrated the legend of his sport.
“I lowered my expectations quite a bit, I imagined the worst. In the end, it was the best thing I’ve ever experienced. I survived all the slanderers and I’m here at 51,” said MacDonald. He wanted to end the first run with a backflip, but fell heavily. In the second run, he finally managed to land the dismount.
Until recently, MacDonald competed for the USA, and only two years ago he announced that he wanted to qualify for the Games for his father’s home country. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be at the Olympics,” said MacDonald. “I did a backflip for the fans, thank you very much and good night.” There are only a few things that bring the world together: “Sport is one of them and so is the Olympics.”
His teammates in Team GB are the two 16-year-olds Sky Brown and Lola Tambling. MacDonald could be their father – and yet he is the coolest guy in the shadow of the Louvre. Even icon Tony Hawk sat enthusiastically in the stands, excited like any other fan. After MacDonald’s third and final run, thousands of fans stand up and applaud the American-born runner.
In the end, MacDonald finished 18th directly behind the German starter Tyler Edtmayer. “He only qualified for the games in the last competition. He put together the hardest run possible for him and managed it. That’s really cool,” said the 23-year-old. “My coach has already competed with him. It must be a really cool feeling to see him here now.” (dpa)
