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Margielyn Didal Finished 7th at the Tokyo Olympics But Her ~Energy~ Wins the Internet

The Tokyo Olympics is in full swing and our Filipino athletes are competing one by one. Cebuana skater pro Margielyn Didal made headlines today as she competed for the women’s street skate. The 22-year-old showed skills and professionalism during the competition which landed her a spot at the finals. But apart from a great performance, Didal also trended online for a different reason. The Pinay performed with contagious cheerful energy, all while sporting an injury too!

She skates, she places

Good news on a Monday: Filipino Olympian Didal successfully skated her way to the finals. She finished seventh out of 8 during the women’s street skate event at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 26. She also placed 7th over 20 competitors at the preliminaries. Although she didn’t medal, the Cebuana skater still had a historic debut at the quadrennial games.

 


All this while injured

Didal’s win is amazing enough as it is but did you know she performed her skate tricks with an injury? She failed the landing on her first trick and reportedly sustained an ankle sprain. Her second trick was successful but the injury slowed her down for the next three performances. However, she still finished strong. Placing seventh at the games is a huge feat for Didal. She was previously ranked 17th at the Worldwide Skateboarding Ranking and is the 10th Filipino athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

 

Women’s skate preliminary top three

Japan’s 13-year-old Nishiya Momiji took the first spot with 15.26 points while Rayssa Leal from Brazil finished with 14.64 points. Another Japanese won third place, 16-year-old Nakayama Funa with 14.49 points. Didal still bested world No. 1 Pamela Rosa and world No. 4 Leticia Bufoni who both failed to make the Top 8, ranking 10th and 9th respectively.

 

Aside from her amazing skateboarding skills, Didal also trended online for her positive energy. Her positive vibe is contagious. She sticks her landings with a smile. Didal knows she’s got this competition, but more importantly, she’s enjoying the ride. Representing the Philippines for the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity after all. Add that to the fact that skateboarding isn’t a well-known sport in our country. And even if fate had something else for her other than a medal, you can bet she’ll hold her head up high, proud and grateful to be able to skate at the Olympics.

Didal also posted a Tiktok which showed her dancing in celebration with Brazil’s Leal, congratulating the 13-year-0ld for her silver medal.

 

@margiedidal@jrayssaleal Congrats on getting Silver in the first Olympic♬ original sound – Jean-Victor

 

She isn’t new to gold medals

Before stepping into the Olympics, the Cebuana previously clinched a gold medal for the 2018 Asian Games. It was the first skateboarding gold in the women’s street event. The following year at the 2019 SEA Games, she won double gold.

 

Started from the bottom, now an Olympian

Before she pursued skateboarding as a sport, Didal used to skate with her friends at parks in Cebu. Security guards would often chase them and they were even denied entry at the mall because of their boards. Didal’s talent caught the eye of her coach, Daniel Bautista, who started signing her up for competitions. She became the first Filipino to ever compete at the 2018 Street League Skateboarding in London, England, and finished eighth overall. Because of her feats (gold medals in Asian Games and SEA Games), Cebu’s then-mayor Tommy Osmeña pledged to build a skate park in the city. In early 2021, Didal even designed an indoor skatepark to train at in Soul Sierra, Cebu.

 

Pinoy success at the Tokyo Olympics

Didal isn’t the only Pinoy athlete that’s making us proud. Filipino boxer flyweight Carlo Paalam proceeded to Round of 16 after defeating Irish Brendan Irvine. Paalam scored a 4-1 win. Meanwhile, Filipina boxers Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno won their respective matches too. Petecio advanced to the women’s featherweight quarterfinals, becoming the first Filipina boxer to do so. Magno defeated her foe in the Round of 32 women’s flyweight division.

 

Where can you watch the Tokyo Olympics?

You can watch the Olympics from the Philippines in multiple ways. There’s free TV broadcasted by TV5 and One Sports. You can also watch through cable/Pay TV via Cignal. As for live streaming, catch the games via the Cignal Play app, Smart’s gigafest.smart website, and through 10 channels of PLDT Home for their Triple Play subscribers.

 

 

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Kyzia spends most of her time capturing the world around her through photos, paragraphs, and playlists. She is constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and a great paperback thriller to pair with it.

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  1. Pingback: Which Cebu Delicacy Inspired the New Margielyn Didal Sneakers? - 8List.ph

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