Key US training for Didal before Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO Olympics-bound Filipino skateboarder Margielyn Didal — ALVIN S. GO

FILIPINO Tokyo Olympics-bound skateboarder Margielyn Didal is set for a key stretch of training in the United States as part of her final preparations for the rescheduled Games.

Ms. Didal, 21, recently booked her spot in the Olympics, where skateboarding will make its debut, on the strength of her world rankings. She is currently number 13 in her division.

The 2018 Asian and 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist came back to her hometown of Cebu after competing at the Street World Championships in Rome, Italy, earlier this month, to rest and spend time with her family.

She was set to fly to Los Angeles after along with her coach, Dani Bautista, for the final stretch of her training before heading to Tokyo.

In LA, Ms. Didal said they will try to find a skate park similar to that which will be used in the Olympics to try out the stuff she will showcase in her event.

“Margie has a bag of tricks, and it’s just finding the right obstacle to do it in, for the course in the Olympics,” said Mr. Bautista, who joined Ms. Didal, in a recent media conference organized by Red Bull Philippines.

The women’s street event in the Tokyo Olympics will be held on July 26 at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

After their training in the US, Ms. Didal and her team will fly to Tokyo on July 18 where they hope to put in further training time before plunging into action.

“I think the three weeks of training time before the Olympics is just about right. You don’t want to overtrain yourself. You have to give your body enough time to recover,” Ms. Didal said.

She went on to say that she expects tough competition in the Olympics but she is staying positive and consistent in training.

Apart from Ms. Didal, other Filipino athletes who have booked a spot in this year’s Olympic Games are pole-vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Caloy Yulo, boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz and Erleen Ann Ando, rower Cris Nievarez, taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa, shooter Jayson Valdez, golfer Juvic Pagunsan, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe and trackster Kristina Knott.

The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled from July 23 to Aug. 8. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo