60-Year-Old Skateboarder to Represent Great Britain at World Games
Darren Miles, an amateur athlete from Plymouth, will compete in the slalom discipline at the event in Paraguay, earning a spot on his country's national team.
Darren Miles, a 60-year-old amateur skateboarder living in Plymouth, England, is preparing to represent Great Britain at the World Skate Games in Paraguay, nearly 50 years after he first took up the sport.
Half a Century of Skateboarding Passion
Darren Miles stated that he first became interested in the sport in Essex in 1977 and has been skateboarding continuously ever since. He noted that when he was ten years old, he never imagined he would be skateboarding for his country at the age of sixty.
Transition to the Slalom Discipline
Miles stated that in 2020, noticing he was gradually losing certain tricks, he turned to the slalom discipline, which involves speeding around cones. At the major event in Paraguay, he will compete against rivals from his own age group as well as those in their twenties.
Expectations for the World Games
Expressing that completing the competition without being disqualified would be a success for him, the athlete noted that he does not expect to break into the top 16, but will support other British athletes.
Social Dimension and Shared Danger
Saying that he enjoys traveling for skateboarding events, Miles emphasized that the social aspect of the sport is a major draw for him, noting that it involves a fun shared danger that matches their personalities.