Street skateboarding legend Shane O’Neill hints Paris 2024 will be his last contest
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com at the World Street Skateboarding Championships in Sharjah, the Australian underlined his intentions to go to the Games for what will likely be his last dance.
Catch him while you can, skateboarders.
Street skateboarding icon Shane O’Neill told Olympics.com that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will likely be the last contest he ever competes in.
Sharing his thoughts before his early exit from the Skateboarding Street World Championships 2022 in 2023, the 33-year-old Australian revealed that a shift in focus means he will no longer have the time to hit the competition scene:
“I'll probably slow down on the contests after Paris and just film from then on,” O’Neill said.
“I have a few businesses, I have a daughter and I have all these things going on. So I'm trying to just manage time and yeah, just enjoy life as well.
“I want to spend the rest of my career making more videos and doing everything like that. At this current state there's so many events and so many things to do, tours and 15 contests a year or more now, so I have to kind of give up on that.”
Shane O'Neill: "I will be in Paris"
With his legendary status in skating, O'Neill was one of the headline names when skateboarding debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021.
With nine Street League Skateboard podiums and a reputation for producing some of the most respected video parts around, there were a lot of expectations on the Australian heading into the Olympics.
But after breaking his ribs at the World Championships qualifying for the Games, O’Neill admits that while he enjoyed the occasion, he physically wasn’t able to produce his best:
“It was a really cool experience. I was injured at the time from the world championships before so, I was just kind of getting back into the groove and did what I could. But the experience was nice.”
Looking ahead to the Olympics in 2024 O’Neill didn’t tip-toe around the question of making it to France: “I will be in Paris, he said resolutely. "I’ll be there.”
A second Olympic appearance will mean O’Neill will once more get to represent Australia on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Though now living predominantly in the United States, the street skater reflected with pride on getting the opportunity to represent his country of birth.
“It’s something different and it’s something new that we had never done before the last Olympics. It’s still a new thing, all of us are kind of spread around the world, and it’s just different but it’s cool.”
The rise of Australia on the international competition scene with the likes of Olympic park gold medallist Keegan Palmer, professional street skater Tommy Fynn and rising star Chloe Covell all in the mix means that even as O'Neill eventually steps away the country has a strong chance of doing well in Paris and beyond.