Cebuana bags gold
In a few rides, she learned to skate. And in the first staging of skateboarding in the Asian Games, Margielyn “Margie” Didal wowed just everybody with a golden performance.
The 19-year-old Cebuana proved as good as advertised, outperforming seven rivals in a showdown in the women’s park event at the SkateBoard Stadium inside the Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang.
Didal was a wonder on the skateboard, displaying a daredevil attitude in a breathtaking show that made her the hands-down winner of the event with 30.4 points as against the 25.0 of closest rival Kaya Isa of Japan.
The rest of the competitors failed to breach the 20-point mark, with two even scoring below 10.
“I am very happy. I did my best and I'm happy I won. I'm happy not just for myself but for all the skateboarders in our country,” she said.
“Kung gusto pa natin ng maraming medals, suportahan natin ang skateboarding,” she added.
“We are ecstatic about Margie Didal's victory. It's my first time to watch a skateboard competition and it's breathtaking. Thank you Margie. You did us all proud with your daredevil performance,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas who flew from Jakarta to witness Didal's performance.
“When she was first introduced to us, we were instantly impressed with her vibrant disposition and positive attitude that betrayed her humble Cebuano roots. At once we decided she was worthy of support. I hope our remaining athletes draw inspiration from her and our other medalists. Laban pa, Pinoy!” Vargas also said.
With support from the MVP Sports Foundation, Didal, daughter of a carpenter and a street vendor from Lahug Cebu, was able to attend a Minneapolis skateboard camp to enhance her skills before competing in the Xtreme Games then in the elite Street League Skateboarding Pro Open in London early this year.
What she learned from her exposure in Minneapolis and London came in handy in the Jakarta Games.
“Thank you MVP Sports Foundation. MVP Sports is very positive about us. We didn't have the money when we went to London. MVP Sports ang tinakbuhan namin. Thank you too to Siklab Atleta by Mr. Dennis Uy. Thank you for believing in us,” said Philippine skateboarding chief Monty Mendigoria.
With her training and experience, Didal proved a class of her own in the Asian Games.
She set the tone of the lopsided contest with an opening score of 6.7 points, highlighted by a difficult “board slide” on the railings after taking the higher platform.
With her 8Five2 yellow skateboard, she displayed her own version of hang time with an “Ollie” on her second run to go comfortably ahead with 14.4 points to the secondrunning Isa's 13.3.
In the tricks section where the two best scores out of five tries count, Didal went full throttle with another “board slide” to net 6.0 in her initial run, took it easy with a 3.7 output in the second before wrapping the gold up with eye-popping scores of 7.1 and 8.9 points in the third and fourth attempts.
With a flair for the dramatic, her coup de grace was an acrobatic “backside 50/50, 360-degree flip out” that wowed the crowd.
Two Philippine male skateboarders, Jeffrey Gonzales and Renzo Mark Feliciano, vied in Skateboard men's street but failed to make it past the qualifying round.
FAMILY
Back in Cebu in the Philippines, Didal's mother, Julie, told The FREEMAN that they did not want Didal to play the sport at first because they wanted her to focus on her studies. However, she would reportedly cut class at Lahug Elementary School so the family was left with no choice but to support her.
“Sige ra ko'g ingnan sa iyang maestra sa una nga, hoy Julie, imong anak, nisud sa eskwelahan nagpalda pa… pag-uli, nagkarsones na. Absent na pud kay nagduwa-duwa na diay og skateboarding," Julie recalled.
Didal stopped schooling at Grade 7. She later continued her studies through the Alternative Learning System but had to stop eventually due to her trainings abroad. She also competed in the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Wa mi nahimo… suporta na lang gyud niya. Karon, napamatud-an man pud nuon niya nga sakto siya
sa iyang desisyon," Julie said.
Her daughter's victory certainly drew much attention, particularly from their neighbors in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
"Murag nikalit kadaghan among silingan. Sa una, labaylabayan ra among atop og patay nga ilaga… labayan mi tae sa among mga silingan uban kay payag ra lagi ning among balay… payag, nya naa sa ubos na bahin diri sa Lahug… pero naanad na mi ana. Tinabangay lang mi's among pamilya," Julie said.
Didal said earlier she will give her financial incentives to her mother. Yesterday, Julie said she will let her daughter decide what to do with the money, which totals P6 million.
“Kung unsay iya gusto, musunod ra pud mi. Ganahan daw siya mag-business, suportahan ra pud siya namo. Ang uban, ibutang dapat ang kwarta sa sakto nga lugar like sa bangko pero gusto pud unta nako na mahuman siya sa iyang pagtuon," she said.
MORE INCENTIVE
The Cebu City government will give P50,000 to Didal, said Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr., chairperson of the City Council's committee on games, amusement, and sports.
He said the monetary reward will be sourced out from the discretionary funds of the Office of the Mayor.
“Fifty thousand, the mayor said. Charged to mayor's discretionary funds,” Gabuya said.