Margielyn Didal

Margielyn Didal
Didal in 2018
Full name Margielyn Arda Didal[1]
Nickname Margie
Born (1999-04-19) 19 April 1999
Cebu City, Philippines
Nationality Filipino
Height 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Weight 108 lb (49 kg)
Skateboarding
Status Professional
Style Street
Stance Goofy[2]
Known for First Filipino to compete in the SLS and X Games. Gold medalist in the Asian Games
Boards 8five2Skateboards[2]
Shoes NBNumeric Asia[2]
Trucks Ace Trucks Volcom Asia[2]
Other sponsor(s) Ares Distribution,[2], MVP Sports Foundation[3]
Medal record
Women's skateboard
Representing  Philippines
Asian Games
2018 Jakarta–PalembangStreet[3]

Margielyn Arda Didal (born 19 April 1999) is a Filipino professional street skateboarder who rose to fame when she competed in the X Games Minneapolis 2018[4] and a gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Games.

Early life and family

Margielyn Didal was born in Cebu City, Philippines.[5] to Lito and Julie Didal.[6] Her father is a carpenter while her mother is a sidewalk vendor selling kwek kwek.[7]

Career

Early years

Margielyn Didal started skateboarding with friends at the now-closed Concave Park in Cebu. When the park closed she and her friends struggled to find a new place to skateboard.[8] She has narrated how she and her friends are apprehended by police officers and security guards when they are caught practicing in the streets and in abandoned areas as well as one account of being barred entry from a shopping mall due to her having a skateboard.[7]

She approached Daniel Bautista, who would be later her coach in the 2018 Asian Games, and borrowed boards from Bautista's friends. Bautista said that Didal became better than boys in her area and recognized her talent.[8] In around 2012, Didal started to compete in local tournaments in Cebu City, particularly those organized by Jeson L. Guardo of G-Concepts in Barangay Tisa in Cebu City.[9]

Sometime in 2014, she injured her right arm.[5]

Street League Skateboarding

Didal would later compete in tournaments abroad and secured sponsors.[8] She became the first Filipino skateboarder to compete in the Street League Skateboarding when she participated in the SLS PRO Open in London, England[5] on May 26, 2018.[9] In the preliminary round, she finished fourth and advanced to the final round to finish eight overall.[9]

Due to her performance in the SLS, a local through an online open letter adress Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña to build a skate park in the city as recognition to Didal's feat.[9] Osmeña then responded that if Cebu City will be the overall champions of the 2018 Philippine National Games, half of the price money will be allotted for a sports park which will prioritize skateboarding at the South Road Properties.[10]

X Games

She also became the first Filipino of any gender to get invited to compete at the X Games. She participated in the 2018 X Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States.[5]

Asian Games

She competed for the Philippines in the women's street skateboarding event in skateboarding. She trained for two months in the United States prior to the event.[11] Didal won the fourth gold for the Philippines at the 2018 Asian Games. In seven attempts Didal accumulated 30.4 points to win the gold while silver medalist Isa Kaye of Japan and bronze medalist Bunga Nyimas of Indonesia accumulated 25 and 19.8 points respectively.[12] She scored 14.2 points in her first two runs[13] and garnered the highest points in the fourth run scoring 8.9 points,[8] by performing the backside 50/50, 360-degree flip out for the first time in a major competition.[14] It was the biggest points in the whole women's street park event.[8]

Following her achievement, she was named as the flag bearer of the Philippine delegation for the closing ceremony of the games.[15] As a gold medalist in the Games she will be entitled to ₱6 million of bonuses, which she plans to use to help her family start a business.[14]

Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña reiterated earlier plans for his city saying that his sister has pledged a ₱5 million donation to build a skate park at the South Road Properties to raise awareness on her and the sport of skateboarding due to Didal's win.[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ "Daughter of kwek-kwek vendor Margielyn Didal is PHL's latest golden girl". GMA News Online. August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Margielyn Arda Didal". Street League Skateboarding. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Skateboarder Margielyn Didal wins 4th gold for Philippines". Philippine Star. August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Meet Margielyn Didal, the Philippines' lone bet in this year's X Games". ESPN5. July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "DIDAL Margielyn". Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "A full turn for Didal". Sun Star Cebu. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 Manglinong, Dan (30 August 2018). "Margielyn Didal's gold medal is a wakeup call to recognize skateboarding as a sport". InterAksyon. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Sarmenta, Yoyo. "Margie Didal's remarkable journey from streets of Cebu to centerstage in Palembang". ESPN5. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Villaruel, Emmanuel (22 June 2018). "From Europe to US Cebu's pride Didal braces for X-Games". Philippine Star. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Cebu to establish Sports Park at SRP". The Philippine Star. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Margielyn Didal's uphill climb to Asian Games gold". ABS-CBN Sports. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Co, Adrian Stuart (30 August 2018). "Cebuana skater nets PH's 4th gold in Asian Games". Panay News. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Cebuana wins gold in skateboarding". Sun Star Cebu. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  14. 1 2 Naredo, Camille (30 August 2018). "'Kulit-kulit lang': Nerves not an issue for skateboarding's golden girl in Asian Games". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ↑ Marquez, CJ (30 August 2018). "Gold medalist Didal is PH's flag bearer at Asian Games closing ceremony". CNN Philippines. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Osmeña pledges Cebu skate park after Margie Didal's gold medal". Politiko Visayas. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  17. ↑ Diaz, Ray Charlie (29 August 2018). "Cebu skateboarding community hopes Didal's win will give sport more support". Cebu Daily News. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
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