Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal will get back on the skateboarding scene again next month.
“‹An all-girls’ tournament in San Diego, California will serve as a prelude to Didal’s quest for an Olympic gold.
She will be joining the Olympics qualifier in January next year in Brazil to get one of the 20 slots to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Didal is also expected to take part in the Exposure competition set on Nov. 3 and 4.
The tournament serves a dual purpose to all participants, which is to create opportunities for professional, amateur and beginning female skaters, by helping them find sponsors.
With New Balance as her sponsor now, Didal hopes to get the needed time practice for the Olympic qualifiers that will be held in the first few months of 2019.
“Back to zero po ako sa points dito. So, I need to get rankings,” said Didal, who won the Philippines’s fourth gold medal in the Jakarta Palembang 18th Asian Games.
Didal also goes on tour in Korea and Taiwan in an effort to stay in shape.
The qualifying tournaments for Didal will start when she joins the Street League Skateboarding tournament from Jan. 11 to 13 in Rio de Janeiro.
“Lahat puwede manalo dito. Kahit iyung mataas ang ranking puwede namang matalo,” said Didal.
The SLS tournament in Brazil is the second stop of the SLS World Tournament, with the first held in Los Angeles last July.
Last May, Didal made it to the finals of the 2018 Street League Skateboarding pro open in London.
Joining her in the finals were the world’s best, including top skateboarders Sammaria Brevard, Candy Jacobs, Lacey Baker Mariah Duran, Pamela Rosa, Alexis Sablone, and Jenn Soto.
When it was over, Soto won the crown, with Didal landing eighth place.
In the heats, Didal got her points when she managed to pull off a 50-50 late back foot heelflip trick on the ledge to earn a 7.9 point score. Baker, who is the two-time SLS Women’s World Champion, scored well to also reach the finals in her heat with Brevard and Didal.