MANILA – For years, Olympic skateboarder Margielyn Didal has blazed a trail and put the Philippines on the map in the global skateboarding scene.
Now, 12-year-old Mazel Paris Alegado is carving out her own place in history, one trick at a time.
READ: Pinay skater strikes gold in SEA Games women’s park event
Earlier this week, Didal was spotted in Alegado's video on social media featuring the 12-year-old doing tricks as part of a challenge for a skincare brand.
It is not the first time that Alegado has met Didal, as they see each other in various competitions. Still, for the young skateboarder, getting to share a moment with the Tokyo 2020 Olympian was special.
"I saw her [Didal] like a lot, actually, I saw [her in] Portland and then we went to San Francisco together and then she came here [California]. So I was with her a lot," Alegado told ABS-CBN News in an exclusive online interview on Friday, Philippine time.
"And I love Margie. She's such a hype person. Like she'll bring like the hype and she's like such a good skater and such a good person," she added.
Didal complimented Alegado for her trick and even gave the youngster advice.
"Yeah, she was like, oh, just have fun, you know, stay hyped. And yeah," Alegado said.
After winning gold in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, the 12-year-old competed in the WST Skateboarding World Championships in Brazil last March, where she finished 17th overall in her maiden appearance.
Alegado then made her Olympic qualifying debut at the WST World Cup in Rome last June, where she was a quarterfinalist in women's park and 19th overall.
The two competitions are only the start of the long journey to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the dream of every athlete including Alegado.
READ: Margielyn Didal's tenacity, personality shine through in new docu-film
"It's my ultimate dream to reach the Olympics. I just got to train more, like maybe it's every day. Go to a PT until I like, you know, get better, get stronger. And if I go to the Olympics, I'll be so cool, especially with Elizabeth. She's one of my really good friends," she shared.
Filipina skateboarders Margielyn Didal and Mazel Paris Alegado. Photo courtesy of Alegado
Didal is the only skateboarder from the Philippines to compete at the Summer Games. The Cebuana finished seventh in the women's street final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Didal missed out on the 2024 Paris Olympics, after undergoing surgery on her left ankle which got fractured in 2022.
READ: Pinay Olympian Margielyn Didal is a new character in Tony Hawk video game
For Alegado, seeing Didal achieve the Olympic dream fuels her desire and motivation to make it to the sporting world's biggest stage.
"She's one of my biggest inspirations, and for sure like brings me more confidence, like seeing that she made the Olympics and it was super cool. And I really hope I do," she said.
According to the Olympics website, qualification for the 2028 Summer Games follows a two-phase ranking system that runs from June 11, 2026 to June 11, 2028 with 22 quota spots per gender for both park and street disciplines.
Athletes can gain points from World Cups, World Championships and the Q-Series during the qualification period.
Spots will be allocated according to World Skateboarding Ranking (WSR) until 20 athletes per gender and event is filled, with the host country guaranteed a spot in each event and the universality quota completing the places.
Alegado is currently ranked No. 24 in the latest World Skateboarding Ranking in the women's park discipline.
Before she continues the journey to LA 2028, Alegado will represent the flag along with the skateboarding team at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan this month.