Filipina skater Rydelle Abarico bags gold in international tournament

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina skateboarding sensation Rydelle Abarico wrapped up her Tropical Downhill Race stint with a gold medal finish last November 27, 2023, held in Khao E-to, Prachinburi District, Thailand.

Abarico gave her best for last during the final run of the Women’s Open event to edge Mp Nawapan Aung-insombut of Thailand and China’s Xiaoling Peng.

The 21-year-old rising star then took home the grand prize of 25,000 Thai Baht (39, 736 pesos), and notched her first international gold medal of the year.

Abarico picked up where she left off from the preliminary round as she also toppled the eliminations with an impressive score of 39.284 seconds.

Despite a tightly-contested grand final run against Peng and Nawapan Aung-insombut, the Filipina superstar still prevailed after finishing the final 20 seconds with a clean run.

Abarico is a native of Alegria, Surigao del Norte and is currently concluding her playing calendar following a career-boosting win in Thailand.

As of this writing, Abarico is yet to confirm whether she will have a final dance in the next circuits or take a much-needed rest back in the Philippines.

Aside from the prized Filipina, David Sebastian Chanco, a Filipino downhill skateboarder, also participated in the event.

Chanco managed to enter the Top 5 and end his Thailand outing with a fourth-place finish in the Men’s Open division.