The Olympics Shed the Spotlight on Margie Didal

It’s beginning. Skateboarders are getting folded into the Olympics narrative-building machine. This isn’t a bad thing! A big part of any Olympics is trying to turn the athletes into stars, and that often turns out successful. Every time an Olympic games rolls around, we get features on certain athletes and new celebrities are born. To that end, the Olympics’ official YouTube page, of all places, has a profile of Margie Didal from The Philippines. Though her country is not known as skateboarding powerhouse necessarily, Didal is one of the favorites for Tokyo.

The video is part of a series called “By Her Rules,” which is focusing on five female athletes at the upcoming Olympics. Skateboarding may be a new event, but it’s already getting validation from the media. This is going to be a big moment for skating, and the above video is a big moment for Didal.