Skateboarding is a sport for young people, but not everyone recognizes it. Most of the other skaters in the men's skateboard park race at the Paris Olympics are less than half their age, 49-year-old Dallas Oberholzer and 51-year-old Andrew McDonald. The two uncles stand at opposite ends of the skateboarding world. The only thing that connects them is the Olympic Games and their love for this sport.
He looks out of place in this game.
With a gray beard, long hair that resembles a rock singer, a slightly bloated figure, and wearing a pair of denim shorts, the 49-year-old South African Oberholzer is the second-oldest skateboarder in the men's park preliminaries. The same was true three years ago in Tokyo, where Oberholzer, only younger than Dane Rune Grifberg, finished last, second to last. So, what about this time?
Oberholzer, who was standing on the starting platform, let out a breath. Hearing the host announce his name, he twisted a few times and set off with a smile. The second move failed. Both hands were clasped before the second and third slides, failure was still failure. After the third group of preliminaries, Oberholzer was the only player who failed to complete the entire set of moves and was temporarily ranked at the bottom - the final result was still the same. But the 33.83 points in the third action have surpassed his highest score of 24.08 points in the Tokyo Olympics. Oberholzer didn't fly very high, but he jumped over himself.
"I have accepted that I will be last. It doesn't matter to me. Again, there is no way I will win a medal." For Oberholzer, the only pressure before the competition was "leaving something for my mother." "I was deeply impressed." Oberholzer's mother and sister went to Paris to watch the game live. Her mother asked him to come up with "a magic trick (trick represents action skills in the skateboarding world)", but he couldn't think of it after all. Come up with new tricks. But it doesn't matter, his mother and sister in the stands are always applauding him. "My mom hasn't seen me skateboard in 28 years. Anyway, she has accepted the fact that I am an Olympian and a skateboarder. So, that is my biggest achievement." Oberholzer said.
"I just want to show my best. Maybe I'm here for the old guys. In the future Olympics, there will only be a group of 14-year-olds competing. So we'd better enjoy the last moments of the old guys." Time." Oberholzer is both satisfied with his progress and a little resentful of the current situation. "We paved the way and we did it. I don't want to leave skateboarding to those kids who are trained in the gym. ”
In Oberholzer’s view, the core of skateboarding is freedom and expression. But in some ways, he is not so free - he wants to go to Dubai with his girlfriend after the Paris Olympics, but is so short of money that he has no sponsors and attends the Olympics at his own expense. A year ago, Oberholzer had to rent out his house in Cape Town and use the rent to travel abroad to participate in qualifying competitions. He was a little tired of skating without making any money.
"This is the midlife crisis." Oberholzer said that he would make peace with skateboarding. "Reconciling with everything and starting over is crucial." Maybe Paris is the first step.
Author: Shen Lei
Text: Special Correspondent of this newspaper/Shen Lei Picture: Visual China Editor: Wu Yulun Editor: Chen Haixiang
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