Teens Brown and Tambling plus Macdonald, 50, named Team GB's skateboarders for Paris 2024

3 minBy Jo Gunston
Sky Brown and Andy Macdonald

Sky Brown, Lola Tambling and Andy MacDonald have been officially announced by the British Olympic Association as the skateboarding athletes representing Team GB at Paris 2024, starting 26 July.

The trio successfully navigated the two-part Olympic Qualifying Series (OQS) to claim their places in skateboard park, a sport that will surely have one of the most iconic backdrops to an Olympic competition of all time – the Eiffel Tower.

Brown has already made history for Britain, securing a first-ever Olympic medal in the sport, with bronze at Tokyo 2020 where skateboarding made its debut, becoming GB’s youngest-ever Olympic medallist while she was at it, at age 13.

But the reigning world champion has sights set on the top spot this time around, despite the setback of a knee injury, an MCL tear, in May.

The soon-to-be 16-year-old missed the first OQS, in Shanghai in May, due to the injury but was able to secure her place, at the second edition in Budapest. Brown earned a hefty score of 91.93 to finish second to secure her ticket to France.

“I have more to bring to Paris so I’m excited for that," Brown told Olympics.com afterwards. "Getting on the podium today definitely gave me the fire to go get that gold in Paris.”

Lola Tambling and Andy Macdonald selected for Team GB in skateboarding for Paris 2024

Another teenager, 16-year-old Tambling, managed to secure enough points to qualify as one of the top 22 skaters even without competing in the final at the OQS, and will make her Olympic debut in France. Her father was a BMX professional, but it was the four wheels that intrigued Tambling.

"I've always grown up around the BMX and skateboarding scene," Tambling told the Team GB website. "Maybe I would have done BMXing but I was like, nah, skating's the one."

And so, to 50-year-old Macdonald. The father of three was winding down his career when an opportunity to qualify for GB through his father, who has a British passport, enabled a last throw of the dice to compete at an Olympic Games. After qualifying through the series, Macdonald, who turned pro in 1994 and skated alongside friend and icon Tony Hawk, described the achievement as, "surreal".

"Skateboarding comes in all shapes and sizes and to limit yourself is to miss out," he posted on Instagram afterwards.

“I FaceTimed my wife," McDonald told Olympics.com, "and I said, ‘Hey, remember when we got married? I told you I would take you to Paris as often as I could? Sorry that I haven’t; it’s been 15 years since we’ve gone. But what do you think about going this summer?"

Skateboarding at Paris 2024 starts the men's street qualification and final on 27 July and concludes on 7 August with the men's park final.

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