Filipino skateboarder Margielyn Didal has formally earned a qualifying slot to the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan this July.
Her qualification was made official after the sport’s international federation World Skate released the roster of qualifiers at its official website.
Didal will be in the quadrennial meet with no. 3-ranked Japanese bet Aori Nishimura, who recently won the crown in the women’s finals of the World Street Skateboarding Championships in Rome, Italy.
Situated at no. 17 in the Olympic rankings, Didal made the cut after organizers struck out three Brazilians from the list, which had six skateboarders from the South American country.
Brazil’s Pamela Rosa (no. 1) and Rayssa Leal (no. 2) and Leticia Bufoni (no. 4), made the cut, but their teammates Virginia Aguas, Gabriela Mazzeto and Isabelly Dasilva did not as each member nation can only obtain a maximum of three spots in each event, with 12 maximum across the 4 events.
This same rule was applied on Japan, which has already three qualifiers in Nishimura, Funa Nakayama and Momiji Nishiya, prompting organizers to remove from the list Yumeka Oda.
Didal is the only skateboarder from Southeast Asia to make the grade.
Each event will have 20 competitors —three from the World Championships, 16 from the world rankings and one from the host, Japan.
Mariah Duran (USA) and Roos Zwetsloot (Netherlands) also made it, along with Dutch bet Candy Jacobs and Australia’s Hayley Wilson.
Other qualified athletes include Alexis Sablone (USA), Keet Oldenbeuving (Netherlands), Alana Smith (USA), China’s Wenhui Zeng, Lore Bruggeman of Belgium, Austria’s Julia Brueckler, Charlotte Hym (France), Asia Lanzi (Italy) and Biopelo Awuah.
Didal is the 10th Filipino to make the Olympics, joining early qualifiers pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxers Irish Magno, Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, rower Cris Nievarez and taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa.
According to eligibility rules, the highest-placed athletes in each of the four World Championship events held in 2021 will be directly qualified to participate in the Olympic Games regardless of their placings on the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings as of June 30.
After that, athletes will first be selected by name on the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings as of June 30, 2021 with a maximum quota of three athletes per NOC until the number of 16 athletes is reached, including continental places.
