Now 51, skateboarder Andy Macdonald is finishing his final Summer Olympics in Paris.

According to Olympics.com, the British-American skateboarder competing for Great Britain in the summer games went last in the men’s skateboarding park preliminary round on Wednesday, Aug. 7. He was over 30 years older than some of the younger competitors.

Macdonald was a fan favorite at the Place de la Concorde despite finishing 18th out of 22 men in his heat with a score of 77.66. He ended his performance on Wednesday with a backflip, drawing yells and applause from the audience, according to the Associated Press. After doing the feat, his longtime buddy and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk gave him a standing ovation.

Macdonald told AP, “I did that for the crowd and it was just about getting to experience and represent for skateboarding.” I was trying to say, ‘Hey, this is great no matter what age you are.'” This is the best, funniest, and most inclusive thing.”

AP reports that Macdonald began his professional career in 1994 and won 23 X Games gold medals in vert skating. He told the newspaper that skating in front of his parents, who hadn’t seen him participate in over 30 years, was the highlight of his second Olympian (he previously competed in Tokyo).

“My mom’s accepted that I’m an Olympian and a skateboarder,” he laughed. “That’s my greatest achievement.”

“I could have fell on every run and been delighted. After his race, Macdonald told the Olympics press team it doesn’t matter. It’s been a lifelong experience. My first few days here. Being up at the Olympic Village gave me four hours of sleep. I got an electric skateboard and zoomed around, meeting everyone.”

Hawk has praised his old buddy since the Games began, and Macdonald recounted how they competed in the Grand Palais over 10 years before the 2024 Olympics.

My 18-year-old kid was a child when Tony Hawk and I demoed at the Grand Palais. “He slept during the demo,” Macdonald told Olympics.com. According to Tony and my generation, skateboarding was the opposite of Olympic sport. We skateboarded because we didn’t want organized sports.”

We didn’t want football or soccer. Our pariah status “Macdonald continued. “We’re skating here. Like footballers hate us. You can see that this worldwide sports community is embracing us. This is wonderful.”

AP said that the skater, who concluded his Olympic stint following Wednesday’s performance, prioritized having fun.
“I did that for the crowd and it was just about getting to experience and represent skateboarding,” Macdonald told the publication of his last backflip. “I was attempting to convey that this is entertaining for all ages. This is the best, funniest, and most inclusive thing.”