Didal ends Olympic stint with impressive finals berth

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Margielyn Didal may not win the gold medal but she turned a lot of heads in the skateboarding world.

The 25-year-old prized skater electrified the Ariake Skateboarding park in Japan with her charismatic smile and joyful vibe and became an instant crowd favorite in her Olympic debut.

Didal wowed the audience after qualifying in the Final stage and clinched the no. 7 spot out of the magic 8.

The Cebuana’s clean and consistent routine garnered her steady scores in the sheets including her flawless executions using the rail course.

During her first run in the finals, Didal was able to score a decent 2.33 and pulled off one of the cleanest first attempts among the eight qualified skaters.

However, Didal couldn’t put the cherry on top after stumbling in her fourth trick during her second run.

The Cebuana skater attempted to do a perfect 50-50 trick but couldn’t gather and balance enough with her two feet.

Didal’s minor errors in the last seconds of her second run gave her a score of 2.22 and landed seventh overall.

Despite not making it into the top three, Didal and her camp were warmly congratulated by the Philippine Sports Commission for a job well done.