'Thank you and goodnight' - Macdonald's debut at 51 ends in heatspublished at 15:27 7 August 2024
15:27 7 August 2024
Sonia Oxley BBC Sport in Paris
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Andy Macdonald has been skating professionally since 1994
Andy Macdonald's skateboarding Olympic debut at the age of 51 ended in the park heats but he called it "an experience of a lifetime".
Born in Massachusetts, USA, he qualified for Great Britain via his Luton-born father. A legend of the sport, who invented some of its tricks decades before the skateboarding was introduced at the Olympics at Tokyo 2020, he had the crowd on its feet in appreciation after all three of his runs.
But his best run of 77.66 put him 18th out of 22, with only the top eight qualifying for Wednesday's final.
"That is how you're supposed to do it, get your run down and then everything else is bonus," he told BBC Sport.
"Experience of a lifetime being at the Olympics.
"There are very few things that bring the world together. Sport is one of those things and the Olympics is one of them."
He said it had been a "long shot" to qualify for the Games in the first place but he clearly enjoyed every moment, waving his skateboard above his head and lapping up the cheers.
"The first run I didn't do the nollie heelflip," he added. "That's a trick I invented and I didn't want to bail on a trick that I invented.
"Then on my second round I put that in, then in my third round I put in the fake 540 that is the one that did it for me in Budapest [to help me qualify for Paris], it was totally a bonus if I could make it here.
"I did a backflip for the fans - thank you and goodnight!"
Australian defending champion Keegan Palmer (93.78) was the top qualifier, followed by American Tom Schaar (92.05) and Italy's Alex Sorgente (91.14). World number one Tate Carew qualified fourth with 90.42.
Macdonald, 51, competes for Team GB in skateboard prelimspublished at 14:57 7 August 2024
14:57 7 August 2024
Media caption,
Team GB skateboarder Andy Macdonald, 51, participates in the Olympic park competition, scoring 77.66 on his final run but not enough to qualify for the eight-man final.
Gimson and Burnet qualify for mixed multihull medal racepublished at 17:16 6 August 2024
17:16 6 August 2024
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Gibson and Burnet won silver in Tokyo.
Great Britain's John Gimson and Anna Burnet qualified for Wednesday's Olympic medal race in the mixed multihull after closing the regular race programme in third position.
The pair recorded finishes of fifth, first and third in Tuesday's races in Marseille and stand a good chance of securing a medal.
Vita Heathcote and Chris Grube missed out the medal race in the mixed dinghy in heartbreaking fashion. Having finished 15th and seventh in the opening two races of the day, the final two were cancelled because of the conditions.
The event now progresses to a 10-boat medal race on Wednesday, with the 2022 world silver medallists sitting outside the qualifying positions in 11th. With 65 points, they scored just one point more than Brazil's boat, who qualified in 10th place with 64.
Meanwhile, Team GB's Micky Beckett will have to endure another nervous night before he can get a shot at a medal, with the medal race in the men's dinghy postponed until Wednesday.
The women's medal race was also put back a day, but GB interest has ended in that event.
The men's kite staged two of the five scheduled races, with GB's Connor Bainbridge finishing 12th and 11th, his worst two race results thus far. He is eighth in the standings.
Team-mate Eleanor Aldridge did not start in the one women's kite race to take place, but is still second in the rankings.