DIDAL’S ROAD TO TOKYO BEGINS

SKATEBOARDING heroine Margielyn Didal begins her quest to earn a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Street League Skateboarding PRO Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that rolls off on Wednesday.

The championships is the first Olympic ranking competition for skateboarding that debuts as a medal sport in Tokyo.

Didal, who catapulted to instant fame when the 19-year-old captured a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, will be in the company of the world’s best in the discipline, including Brazilian Monica Torres, Australian Haley Wilson, Candy Jacobs of the Netherlands and 16-year-old Japanese world champion Aori Nishimura.

Didal would love to follow the footsteps of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz or even surpass the feat of the Filipino weightlifting star by aiming for the country’s first Olympic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“It’s a dream that I hope to fulfill. But for now, my focus is how to earn a spot in the Olympics through a series of ranking competitions where I have to perform at my best,’’ Didal said.

“I believe she is one of the leading contenders for our country to get another Olympic medal,’’ said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go, one of Didal’s chief backers aside from the Philippine Sports Commission.

Also seeing action in the Rio qualifier, considered as the

2019 world championship of skateboarding, is Christiana Means, an Oregon-based Pinay skater.

“We wish her [Didal] good luck in her tournament and will continue to support her and our other Pinoy skateboarders ,’’ said Go.

The top 14 women of Street League Skateboarding will see action in Rio beginning Tuesday, which will also feature worldrenowned skaters Pamela Rosa, Alexis Sablone, Kate Shengeliya, Jenn Sotto, Lacey Baker, Samarria Brevard, Julia Brueckler, Leticia Bufoni and Mariah Duran.