Didal’s Tokyo journey begins with systematic training

Gold medallist Margielyn Didal. AFP FILE PHOTO

Preparing for her biggest challenge yet, skateboarder Margielyn Didal has started high-performance training.

Skateboarding head Monty Mendigoria said the Asian Games gold medalist honed her skills on the streets without scientific technical support.

“Through the years, Margie just ride her skateboard and play without doing warmups,” said Mendigoria, president of the Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines.

“We have to change that culture and train the scientific way,” said Mendigoria, whose skateboarders are supported by Go For Gold Philippines.

For starters, the Cebuana has weekly appointments with experts at the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine, the medical arm of the Philippine Sports Commission.

According to Mendigoria, Didal is undergoing therapy to loosen up her strained right thigh brought about by years of perfecting her routines.

“There’s no injury or tear, but she screams whenever they massage and apply pressure on that right thigh,” said Mendigoria, explaining that the muscle fatigue was the result of playing without proper warm-ups.

Since Didal first stepped on her board over a decade ago, Mendigoria said she hasn’t been to a physical therapist whenever she suffers an injury or falls.

Didal is one of the country’s prospects to finally capture an Olympic gold medal.

The 19-year-old recently reached the semifinal round of the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that jumpstarted her journey to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Didal and Filipino-American Christiana Means were the first Filipinos to go that far in the SLS, which lured the top 54 skaters. They eventually finished 14th and 22nd, respectively, and failed to make the medal round.

Didal is eyeing participation in as many qualifying tournaments as possible to gain Olympic ranking points.