By: Chaesung(Chloe) Kwon

The Olympics is a worldwide event that is very hard to get into.You have to work especially hard and fast just to get into the Olympic Trials! It is a contest of sportsmanship, hard work, and pounds of sweat. Athletes work hard and build their bodies-before it’s past their prime. But sometimes athletes aren’t quite what you expected.

Andy Macdonald, 50 years old, is making history by being the oldest person to compete in Olympic skateboarding. Normally, people past 40 will not compete in any rough and backbreaking events like skateboarding. Skateboarding itself isn’t such a popular sport to compete in for the Olympics. But Macdonald persists, saying that he is very passionate about the sport and has played it for a very long time. He qualified for the British team, landing a score high enough to play in the Olympics. And even though he has won many other skateboarding competitions, this would be his first Olympics.

Everyone doubted him, even his coach, since he had not even made a quarterfinals before. But he tried hard, and learned tricks and difficult movements to get him into the Olympics. And with his age comes more problems. He has been injuredin the ankle and kneecap, and had to do several surgeries on them. None of this stopped him, though, and he is now on a team with Sky Brown and Lola Tambing, who are both younger than his children. Macdonald isn’t the only surprising contestant to compete in the Skateboarding Olympics. China’s Zheng Haohao, who is only 11, will be competing too.

It is very surprising that for a sport like skateboarding people young and old have come and have accomplished the Trials.

Image Credit by KK