By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Philippines’ no.1 female skater is back.
After undergoing a hiatus due to a fractured left fibula injury, Margielyn Didal flipped her way back to the international limelight and reigned supreme during the Red Bull Buenos Aires Conquest Skateboarding tournament held in Argentina.
Despite a long lay-off, the two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist returned as if she never left, captivating the spectators who took time to travel to the University of Buenos Aires Law School where the event took place.
It was in the final round where the Filipina star created a huge gap to the other participants as her last run mixed with creativity and difficulty earned the nod of the judges.
From her clean ollies to her flawless heelflips, Didal wrapped up the preliminary round with an outstanding score that was enough to help her advance to the playoffs.
During the pre-final round, Didal made a statement by pulling off a kickturn into a casper flip, the single sequence that steered her to the final round of the prestigious Red Bull contest.
Didal faced Roos Zwetsloot of the Netherlands during the championship stage and outworked her with a series of clean runs consisting of boardslides and nollies.
In the semifinals, Didal bested hometown favorite Camila Caceres and survived the runs of Aldana Bertan and Leticia Bufoni in the first round.
This is the first time that Didal made her comeback in competitive skateboarding after undergoing rehabilitation for her ankle.
The Filipina skater also missed the 2024 Paris Olympics Summer Games, and turned her focus in the second half of the skateboarding competing calendar.
Congratulations, Margielyn!
