Margielyn Didal took a step closer to an automatic Olympic berth after finishing at 17th in the qualifiers of the 2021 World Street Skateboarding Championships in Rome, Italy, Thursday morning (Philippine time).
The tournament, as a world championship competition, awards its podium finishers not just medals. They also receive outright spots in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
All competitors had two runs, and the better of those two runs would be their final score. Only the top 27 skaters then moved on into the semifinals.
Didal, the first-ever Asian Games skateboarding gold medalist, struggled on her first run. She missed on her attempts on her tricks and had to settle for an 8.10.
The 2019 Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist, needing a decent score, then did one better later in the day with a 19.00. That was enough to put her into the following round.
It was a Japanese 1-2 after the qualifiers. Yumeka Oda and Momiji Nishiya dropped monstrous 40.22 and 34.11 scores in their respective second runs.
Didal will push for her spot in the finals as the semifinals happen in the skatepark on Friday,
