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Fifty-year-old Andy MacDonald will join teenagers Sky Brown and Lola Tambling in a Team GB skateboarding squad for this summer’s Olympics that spans the age spectrum.
The American-born MacDonald , who has won eight X Games gold medals including a doubles title with the great Tony Hawk in the 1990s, came out of retirement in a quest to reach Paris 2024 after watching skateboarding’s Olympic debut in Tokyo.
MacDonald, who qualifies for Team GB as a result of his Luton-born father Roderick, said: “Getting a qualification place at the Olympics is something I never thought would happen.
“It took a hundred things aligning for me to get the points needed and luckily for me, they did.”
MacDonald will become the oldest Olympic skateboarder in history and he says his qualifcation proves “age is just a number” as he aims to “represent the old guys”.
“I always knew it was going to be a long shot,” he said. “I’m 50 years old skating against 14 year olds, so I knew it was going to be hard.
“When I started out, going to the Olympics wasn’t even a thought. But here I am, qualifying at the age of 50, and it feels pretty surreal. Age really is just a number.
“I’ve had a lot of messages saying I’m representing the old guys - ‘go get em til the wheels fall off’ kind of thing. But if I can motivate people to stay out there and love what they do then that’s amazing.
“There are no rules in skateboarding, it’s all about enjoying the ride.”
MacDonald joins two teenagers in Team GB’s squad.
Brown, who became Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist when she won bronze in the Japanese capital, had already all but sealed her spot by virtue of winning last year’s World Championships.
The 15-year-old underscored her potential to repeat her medal success as she swept into a second-place finish in Budapest, while 16-year-old Tambling also made the cut after reaching the semi-finals.
