World Skate confirms Margielyn Didal's Olympic berth

Margielyn Didal is now officially an Olympian. Red Bull (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--It's official! Margielyn Didal will be part of Olympic history.

World Skate, the global body for skateboarding and roller sports, confirmed late Wednesday night that the Cebuana skateboarder will be among the batch of players who will compete in the inaugural Olympic skateboarding event in Tokyo.

Didal, officially the 10th member of the Philippine team to the Tokyo Olympics, qualified following the world ranking update after the Street World Championships that took place last week in Rome.

Didal maintained her number 13 ranking in the women's street category despite missing out on a finals berth in the said event, well within the Top 20 cutoff.

This confirms the initial statement of the Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines over the weekend.

[Related Story: Margielyn Didal set to secure Olympic berth says Skate Pilipinas]

The reigning Southeast Asian Games champ is the only female from the ASEAN region to qualify outright through the world rankings.

Didal, also the reigning Asian Games champion, will take on three Japanese foes including world number three Aori Nishimura and world number five Momiji Nishiya.

Didal will also have some tough competition from Brazil in Pamela Rosa and Rayssa Leal, the top two female street skateboarders right now, as well as world number four Leticia Bufoni

Barring sudden adjustments due to Japan currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Olympic street skateboarding event is scheduled on July 25-26.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno