DIDAL Margielyn

Philippines

Skateboarding

Date of Birth: 19 Apr 1999

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Olympic Scholarship

Place of birth: CEBU

Birth Country:

Philippines

Place of residence : CEBU

Residence Country:

Philippines

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Skateboarding	Women's Street	7

Schedule

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Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

World Skate World Championships

Year	Location	Street
2021	Rome, ITA	17
2019	Sao Paulo, BRA	15
2018	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	14

X Games

Year	Location	Street
2018	Minneapolis, MN, USA	12

WS SLS World Tour

Year	Location	Street
2021	Rome, ITA	17
2019	London, GBR	19
2019	Los Angeles, CA, USA	5
2019	Sao Paulo, BRA	19
2018	London, GBR	8
2018	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	14

Dew Tour

Year	Location	Street
2019	Long Beach, CA, USA	21

Nickname:

Margie (sports.mb.com.ph, 17 Jul 2019)

Occupation:

Athlete

Languages spoken:

English, Filipino

Injuries:

Her preparation for the 2019 South East Asian Games in the Philippines was troubled by a recurring ankle injury dating back to 2014. (rappler.com, 28 Nov 2019)

She injured her right arm and fractured her collarbone in 2014. (spin.ph, 29 Aug 2018; Facebook profile, 24 Nov 2014)

Start:

She first tried skateboarding in her early teens at Concave Park, a former private skate park in Cebu, the Philippines. While her mother sold food outside the park, she would roam the park and make friends with the skateboarders there, including Jeff Gonzales and Daniel Bautista. She would borrow the boards of her new skater friends, until they eventually gave her enough parts to make her own board. (espn.com, 31 Aug 2018)

Reason:

Her potential was noticed by Daniel Bautista, who became her first coach. He was impressed at the speed at which she could learn new tricks. "She asked if I could teach her this trick - the 360 flip. And she did it in like a matter of hours. I was like 'Yo, that took me years!' Amazing right?" Bautista recalled. (rappler.com, 29 Aug 2018; espn.com, 31 Aug 2018)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. (inquirer.net, 06 Mar 2019; philstar.com, 04 Mar 2019)

Memorable:

Winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, and competing at the 2018 SLS Pro Open in London, England. (espn.com, 31 Aug 2018; us-tv.org, 31 May 2018)

Philosophy:

"The moment you ride a skateboard, it's like you don't think of anything. You just want to ride. You want to enjoy it. The best way to escape problems is through a skateboard. Enjoy and treasure every moment." (scmp.com, 28 Jan 2020)

Award:

She was flag bearer for the Philippines at the opening ceremony of the 2019 South East Asian Games in the Philippines. (sports.abs-cbn.com, 30 Nov 2019)

In 2018 she was named the Philippine Sportswriters Association [PSA] Athlete of the Year. (philstar.com, 04 Mar 2019)

She was flag bearer for the Philippines at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. (news.ans-cbn.com, 31 Aug 2018)

She was recognised as one of the '25 Most Influential Teens of 2018' by Time Magazine. (scmp.com, 28 Jan 2020)

General Interest

General
PROMOTING SKATEBOARDING
After winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, she was described by ESPN as the 'face of Philippine skateboarding'. She hopes her profile will increase cultural acceptance of the sport and public investment in parks in her native country. "I hope other people's perception [of skateboarding] will change. Skateboarding needs support, especially in the Philippines, in Cebu. Our wish as skaters is that we get indoor and outdoor skate parks. If you want more gold medals or medals in skate events, then support skateboarding. We have to wake up. Can you imagine if we have facilities, I'm sure there will be more medals to come." (sports.inquirer.net, 06 Dec 2019; espn.com, 31 Aug 2018)

FAMILY
She is the fourth of five children. Her father is a carpenter, and her mother sells street food in the Lahug area of Cebu, the Philippines. She left school after grade seven to focus on skateboard training, and has used her proceeds from skating to support her family. She used the bonus she received from the Philippine government after her 2018 Asian Games gold medal to help ease the financial pressures on her parents. "I use the money to help my family. Maybe build a family business, so that my mum and dad do not have to work anymore." (scmp.com, 28 Jan 2020; philippines.timesofnews.com, 29 Aug 2018)

POLICE CHASE
During her early days she says she was often chased by the police while skating in the streets of Cebu, Philippines. "I got in trouble in the Philippines, where we didn't have a skatepark and you can't skate on the sidewalk, so we would [illegally] skate on the street, but security and police would yell at us and tell us not to skate, and when we didn't stop they pulled their guns. But that was before - now they're chasing me for selfies." (scmp.com, 28 Jan 2020)

Milestones

She won the first Asian Games women's street gold medal when skateboarding made its debut at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2020)

She became the first Filipino skateboarder to receive an invitation to the X Games after being invited to the 2018 X Games in Minneapolis, MN, United States of America. In 2018 she also became the first Filipino skateboarder to compete in the Street League Skateboarding [SLS] by taking part in the SLS Pro Open in London, England. (Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines Facebook page, 19 Jun 2018; xgames.espn.com, 2018; mylifeonboard.net, 26 May 2018; Street League Skateboarding Facebook page, 26 May 2018)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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