Back in the Nineties, I was in a famous skateboard game. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been very good at dishing up moments of colour and intrigue. On a baking afternoon in the shadeless stands of the Place de la Concorde it delivered something new, a moment in the sun for 51‑year‑old men in cargo shorts everywhere. Welcome to the shock of the old. Welcome to the first and ideally final instalment of Dad Bloke Summer.
Olympic skateboarding has already made its mark in Paris and Tokyo. This is a thrilling, high-tariff sport. The women’s competition on Tuesday afternoon was captivating and occasionally brutal. A day later the men’s heats provided something else, not just a high-end medal competition eliminator but a stage for the 51-year-old Andy Macdonald to take to the ramps in the colours of Great Britain. Yes, really.
