Skateboarder Didal’s rough road to success

CEBU CITY – It is said that parents know what’s best for their children.

But for Cebuana Margielyn Didal, she opted to defy her father’s will to pursue her interest in the extreme sport of skateboarding.

Last Wednesday, Didal proved she made the right decision when she became the fourth Filipino athlete to win a gold medal in the ongoing 2018 Asian Games in Pelambeng, Indonesia.

The 19-year-old Didal bested seven other participants to rule

the women’s street skateboard event at the JSC Skateboard Stadium.

Didal scored 30.4 points, while her closest pursuer Japanese Isa Kaya tallied 25.0.

The road to success was a rough one for Didal. She frustrated her father no end for taking for granted her studies in favor of her passion to learn skateboarding.

“Her father brings her to school. It turned out, she was not attending classes because she was on the streets practicing skateboarding,” Didal’s 43year-old mother Julyiana told Manila Bulletin.

In his frustration, Didal’s father Julito destroyed all his daughter’s skating equipment.

“She was so sad because she just borrowed the skateboard. Then the wheels for a skateboard that she bought for 11,800 were also destroyed,” Julyiana said in Cebuano.

“My husband kept on advising her to focus on her studies so she could have a better future,” Julyiana added.

Despite her father’s admonition, Margielyn, the fourth in a brood of five, continued honing her skills in the streets of Cebu. She was already Grade 7 when she stopped schooling because her passion for the sport has gotten in her way.

Since Margielyn was so into the sport, Julyiana took it upon herself to convince her husband to just let their daughter pursue her passion.

Julito finally obliged and last Wednesday, Margielyn made them the proudest parents.

“We watched her competition on television. We were confident that she was going to win because the skating rink in Indonesia was not that tall compared to the rinks in London and America,” said Julyiana.

Margielyn landed in the top eight in a competition in London last May. She also ranked 10th in a separate competition in America last July.

The Didals live in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City. Julyiana sells street food like “kwek-kwek” and “tempura” outside a church in Cebu City. Julito, 50, works as a construction worker.

“She was 12 years old when she started practicing. There were times that I instructed her to buy cooking oil but she would not come back because she was already practicing with her friends,” Julyiana narrated.

Julyiana revealed that Margielyn persevered in mastering the sport because she believed it was the only way to lift her family out of poverty.

With last Friday’s victory, Margielyn is now close to achieving her dream of giving her family a better life as she could receive as much as 16 million as incentive.

“We talked after her victory and the first thing that she told me was that she wants her father to stop working. She is concerned with her father that’s why she said she will use part of the money to put a business for her father,” Julyiana said.

“We are so proud of her achievement. We are happy that her hard work finally paid off,” said Julyiana.

Julyiana advised Margielyn to stay grounded.

“We will never know if this kind of blessing will come again. My advice for her is to ake care of herself and take good care of the blessings that she received,” Julyiana said.