Didal remains on target for Tokyo Games berth

Margielyn Didal, the Philippines’ leading bet for the skateboarding event that is set to make its debut in the Tokyo Olympics next year, said that she is right on track to qualify for the Games.

“We’re in a good [position] for the Olympics,” Diaz said in response to the Inquirer during the Philippine Olympic Committee’s webinar on nutrition on Saturday night, with the Cebu native currently 14th in World Skate’s official ranking for the women’s street event.

“Twenty athletes get to qualify for the Games,” she said in Filipino. “[And] each country can only participate in three.”

“We know that the most competitive are Japan and Brazil. And the US, [too], since skating has been a tradition there—skate parks are everywhere,” she added.

But Didal feels that this rule could serve her well.

“In the [current Top 20] there are five Brazilians and [a handful of] Japanese,” she said as current Olympic rules would prevent all of them from qualifying and leave spots open for other countries.

According to World Skate, the top three performers from the World Championships get outright passage into the Olympics. Sixteen more, meanwhile, could secure their berths via the global rankings. Japan, on the other hand, has long secured a berth being the host.

Despite what seems to be favorable odds, Didal, an Asiad and Southeast Asian Games gold medal winner, is not leaving anything to chance.

She said she’s still trying to go out and skate at least five times a week while coupling it with “stretching and workouts to maintain [fitness].” INQ