News about Andy Macdonald

espite the cut-throat world of athletics, this year's Olympic Games have shown how silver foxes have reigned in not just skill but popularity. One of the most viral moments at Paris 2024 saw 51-year-old Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec spawn fanart and hilarious memes joking that his relaxed attitude and attire gave him the confidence of a retired hitman (right). Elsewhere, British skateboarding prodigy, Andy Macdonald - also 51 - dazzled in front of a packed crowd who were all stunned by his moves (left). Pictured centre and inset: Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo, 65, of Spain.

Would he skate into the arena on his board or be wheeled in, sitting in a bathchair? When he got down with the kids would he ever be able to get up again? Well, if he did fall and break an arthritic bone when attempting a flip, at least he would be in the right place - he could have it set in plaster of Paris. As we awaited the entrance of Team GB 's Andy Macdonald, at 51 the oldest person ever to compete in Olympic skateboarding - a sport usually associated with teenagers wearing backwards baseball caps - the jokes flew thick and fast. And by the end of the competition, during which the French crowd took the so-called Rad Dad to their hearts, booing the judges when they awarded him low marks and cheering as he bowed out with a lap of honour, the new Eddie the Eagle was born.

The Olympics may have put the world's gaze on the Englishman but in the skateboarding realm, he has always been an icon in the sport. Here is everything you need to know about the Team GB skateboarder Andy MacDonald.

Team GB 's Andy Macdonald became skateboarding's oldest Olympian but narrowly missed out on a spot in the finals at Paris. Being cheered on by 90s skating legend Tony Hawk, the 51-year-old was unable to make it into the final of the men's skateboard park event on Wednesday evening as he finished 18th in the standings. Despite his failure to qualify, Macdonald's appearance makes him Britain's oldest competitor at the Paris Olympics and the oldest-ever skateboarder to compete at the games. He is also Britain's first male competitor in the sport, with 16-year-old female skaters Sky Brown and Lola Tambling also representing Team GB - the former being this country's youngest-ever Olympic medallist after her bronze in Tokyo three years ago. Born in Massachusetts , USA, the father-of-three was eligible to compete for Britain thanks to his Luton-born dad Roderick. He became interested in competing for the British team after the launch of the sport at the Olympics in 2021, as sponsorship and competition opportunities began to dry up for him elsewhere following the Covid-19 pandemic..

Andy Macdonald was unable to get into the finals of the men's skateboarding park event but became the oldest competitor in the sport's Olympic history with his runs in Wednesday afternoon's preliminary heats.  At 51 years old, Macdonald is not only the oldest competitor in the men's skateboard park event - where the youngest to qualify for the final, Keefer Wilson, is 17 years old -  but in the Team GB cohort, a full 35 years older than team-mate Sky Brown.  Brown claimed bronze for Team GB three years on from her historic showing in Tokyo in Tuesday's women's event, but Macdonald was unable to follow his team-mate into the finals on Wednesday evening. 

Just five days before her 12th birthday, Chinese skating prodigy Zheng Haohao made her Olympic debut - making her the youngest athlete to ever compete for her country. When Zheng took the bowl in the skateboarding preliminaries in Paris today, she also became the youngest Olympian to take part in this year's Games. Born on the day before the closing ceremony of the London Games in 2012, Zheng only started skating after her parents gifted her first skateboard on her 7th birthday - but has been on a steady rise to the top since. She landed on the international skating scene with a splash when she competed in the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai and Budapest, which saw her rise to a world ranking of 26 and seal her spot in Paris.

BY DAVID COVERDALE: They say you're only as old as you feel, and, for the most part, 50-year-old skateboarder Andy Macdonald is 13. He tells Mail Sport, 'I'm skating with teenagers all the time.' "I feel like I'm right there mentally on a variety of fronts.' I act like a kid, and I dress like a teenager. 'It just so happens that I'm 50 years old, so when I fall it takes longer to get up and longer to heal!' Macdonald, a father of three children, is what skateboarders refer to as a 'Rad Dad.' This Peter Pan of the park isn't exactly a figure of amusement. He is a skateboarding hero in the United States, who now competes for Great Britain and could be on the verge of becoming the sport's oldest Olympian.

As thousands of nurses went out on strike (right) in a bitter fight over pay, former levelling up secretary Simon Clarke (left) ignited controversy after making the remark on a radio station. Nurses earning £35,000 should not be using foodbanks and should instead 'take responsibility' for their own finances, according to Oxford-educated Mr Clarke, who is MP for Middlesbrough South and east Cleveland. However, the inflamatory remarks have sparked backlash from MPs and health professionals, with Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing's general secretary, saying, "To criticize anyone using a foodbank is disgusting, heartless, and dangerously out of touch."