Olympics: Men's Park Final
Following a stellar showing at the Women’s event, Wednesday marked the moment for the Men’s Park skaters to take to the Olympic stage. As with the previous event, the 22 athletes were broken up into 4 separate heats, with the 8 accumulating the highest scores advancing into the final.
With an unimaginable array of talent across each heat, choosing one outstanding competitor was nigh on impossible; the vast range of styles ensured that this was to be an enthralling event. With fervent anticipation thrumming, the pressures of the nation rested on the shoulders of the competition’s most seasoned: 51-year-old Andy MacDonald.
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Arriving to course alongside his old sparring partner Tony Hawk, MacDonald looked to school his young peers with panache he’d picked up in the ‘90s, years before most of them had even stepped on a skateboard. Dropping in last in the final heat, the entirety of Mac’s formidable competition had put down their opening runs before the Team GB hopeful and fan-favourite had his chance in the limelight, raising tensions and the bar for entry into the final.
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Despite putting together three solid runs that improved incrementally each time, he unfortunately could not breach the top 8, finishing his final run with a score of 77.66 after throwing down a clean fakie 540 over a particularly awkward tabletop ramp. However, it was clear that winning was secondary to MacDonald, who was all smiles and brought the energy; the crowd ate up every second.
Advancing to the final were Brazilian trio Pedro Barros, Luigi Cini, and Augusto Akio; USA’s Tom Schaar and Tate Carew; the Australian team of Keegan Palmer and Keefer Wilson; and lone Italian Alex Sorgente.
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Falling on his first trick, Augusto Akio opened the final flatly, but Tom Schaar was quickly into the bowl to raise the stakes with a powerful display. Unperturbed, Keegan Palmer dropped in, soaring through a breathless run that blended quick-footed grinds and technical air tricks for a score of 93.11. At the end of the first run, only Palmer and Schaar had put together complete runs, and this was reflected in the scoreboard – over 50 points separated third and second place.
By the end of the second runs, 6 of the 8 competitors had managed to log full scores, with Keefer Wilson and Luigi Cini the outliers. Despite his earlier disappointment, Akio managed to score 91.85, putting him in third place; fellow countryman Pedro Barros brought the explosiveness but fell short of a podium placement after an exciting turn, leaving only Tom Schaar to challenge Palmer in the top spot. His run started well, but the dagger in his back was a dizzying alley-oop 540 Tail Grab over a hip, a trick which he’d had no problem putting to concrete previously. With Schaar out of the running, Keegan Palmer was crowned gold medallist, but dropped in for a final victory lap anyway.
The competition ended with Palmer in gold medal position, Schaar with the silver, and Aiko in bronze.