Skateboarder Andy Macdonald bridges generations at Paris Olympics

Andy Macdonald has teammates younger than his son as he prepares to make his Olympic debut as the oldest skateboarder in Paris. But the 50-year-old big boy thinks he can teach them a few tricks.

The California-based father of three was announced Monday as a teammate of 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and world champion Sky Brown, 15, and Lola Tambling, 16.

The first male skateboarder to represent Britain at the Games is undeterred by the age gap but is amazed he has made it this far despite initially seeming like a long shot: “It feels quite surreal,” he told Reuters.

“I never thought I would actually qualify for the Games. When I started this process two and a half years ago, it was more of an experiment of ‘yeah, maybe I can compete with 14-year-olds when I’m 50.'”

Macdonald is known for his mastery of the half-pipe vert ramp, but will compete in park skating, a faster discipline that uses a three-dimensional bowl.

After securing a place in the qualifying event in Budapest last week at the last chance, he feels he has something to offer and that he can learn from it.

“I have the advantage of having a lot more experience in competitive skating and knowing what it takes to prepare mentally and physically,” he said.

“They have the advantage of their youth. They can fall really hard and bounce right back up. They think, ‘Let’s try again.’ And if I fell that hard, I’d be out for two weeks.”

“I have a lot of insight into the technique and different trick variations that they may not have heard of or thought of before, but now they can try out.

“I feed off their youth and their energy, because I’m just trying to keep up. I’m 50 years old and when they get all excited, ‘Come on, come on, keep skating,’ then I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to pick up the kids from school.'”

Macdonald holds the record for most X Games medals in vert skateboarding, competing with American greats Tony Hawk and Shaun White. His father was born in Great Britain.

His performance was received positively on social media.

“When I announced ‘hey, I’ve qualified,’ the 50-plus crew was just like ‘yeah, representative of the old guys, go get them. Till the wheels fall off,'” he said, grinning. “And that’s awesome.

“If I can motivate people to keep doing what they love into their 50s or 60s… we’re still learning how long we can keep riding a skateboard and who knows?

“I’ve had a skateboarding career that’s lasted decades longer than I ever imagined. And to be able to take my wife and kids to Paris and make it to the Olympics is just amazing.”

When Macdonald turned pro in 1994, the atmosphere was very different. His clean lifestyle – no drinking, no partying, no smoking and no tattoos – set him apart.

“I was an outsider. I used to get all kinds of punches from people saying ‘you don’t party enough, you train, you’re a coach,'” he recalls.

He is the father of two daughters aged eight and fourteen and a son aged eighteen. His daily routine consists of dropping the children off and taking them to school, doing homework, doing extracurricular activities and skateboarding.

“From the beginning it was always like, ‘Can you do this? Can you be an Olympic athlete and still be the father, the important things, the most important things? Raising my kids,'” he said. “I’ve been able to do both.

“For me that is the greatest achievement.”