For their podium finish in the men’s downhill competitions, Jaime de Lange and teammate Duke Pandeagua will soon find themselves joining qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines president Monty Mendigoria said De Lange and Pandeagua are now preparing to take part in the World Championships in the downhill event.
De Lange, who is currently ranked no. 14 in the world, has a good chance of making it to the Olympic Games. This is because he made to no. 3 in the world rankings two years ago.
“He can bounce back since he was no. 3 in the world back then,” revealed Mendegoria, who added it will be easier if an Olympic qualifier can be done here since the Philippines now has a skate park in Tagaytay City.
“We are thinking of hosting since we already have the facilities in Tagaytay City,” said Mendegoria.
To prepare for the SEA Games, De Lange spent one and a half months training in Australia.
He even stayed with renowned racer Josh Evans and worked with world champion Harry Clarke on his game.
De Lange said his experience in winning the men’s downhill gold in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in Maragondon, Cavite was a memorable one for him.
When his two teammates in the women’s division crashed before his race began, the 23-year-old De Lange and Pandeagua decided to take things cautiously when their turn came in their finals’ run.
From there, De Lange and his teammate came up with a 1-2 finish. He took the gold medal in the 1.7-kilometer Maragondon road with a time of 1:27.
The clocking was two seconds short of the course record when the sport was introduced two years ago.
“Duke and I were sitting at the top and we decided that it was not about him nor about me. It was about the Philippines. So we just skated safe,” said De Lange when he looked back at how he won a gold.
De Lange is quite familiar with the road conditions since it has been previously used as a leg in two World Tours and in a local competition.