"Blasphemer survives"
Olympics: skateboarding grandpa freaks out fans
Right in front of the skateboard arena on Place de la Concorde is a sign made for Andy MacDonald. "Old is the new gold", it reads. It wasn't enough for the 51-year-old to win gold or even a medal at the Olympic Games on Wednesday. It was over after qualifying. Nevertheless, the crowd went wild 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 I've ever experienced. I survived all the detractors and I'm here at 51," said MacDonald, who won his first of eight gold medals at the 1996 X Games. He wanted to finish the first run with a backflip, but crashed heavily. In the second run, he finally stood the dismount.
Until recently, MacDonald competed for the USA, in Paris he competed for his father's home country Great Britain. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be at the Olympic Games," said MacDonald. "I did a backflip for the fans, thank you very much and good night."
Tony Hawk is also amazed
His teammates for Great Britain are 16-year-olds Sky Brown and Lola Tambling. MacDonald could be their father - and is still the coolest guy in the shadow of the Louvre. Even icon Tony Hawk was in the stands, as excited as any other fan. After MacDonald's third and final run, thousands of fans stood up and applauded the US-born athlete. It was 18th place.
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