Didal, Fil-am reach Tokyo qualifiers semifinals

Skateboarders Margielyn Didal and Christiana Means made the semifinal round of the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) World Championship held recently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to kick off their 2020 Tokyo Olympic quest.

The duo also emerged as the first Filipinos to go that far in the SLS where the top 54 skateboarders competed.

Didal, who captured a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, landed 14th overall with 20 points while the Oregon-based Means placed 22nd with 11.8 points.

“Although we were not able to advance further, this is an important step in Olympic qualifying,” said Go For Gold’s Jeremy Go of the Team Philippines bets.

Only eight skateboarders led by Leticia Bufoni of Brazil and Americans Mariah Duran and Lacey Baker advanced to the Super Crown Final.

The Go for Gold program also supports national athletes from triathlon, cycling, sepak takraw, dragonboat and wrestling.