Margielyn Didal advanced to the final of the women's skateboarding street event after landing seventh overall in the preliminary heats in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at the Ariake Urban Sports Park Monday, July 26.
Didal scored a total of 12.02 as the third and last tricks proved to be instrumental for her ticket en route to the medal contention.
The 22-year-old Cebuana actually ranked third overall after her performance, next to Roos Zwetsloot of the Netherlands and Aori Nishishimura of Japan.
But the leaderboard was shaken in Heat 3 after Japanese skateboarders Funa Nakayama and Momiji Nishiya put themselves at the top, placing first and second respectively in the preliminary.
Likewise, Heat 4 also pushed down Didal as 13-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leal secured third place while Wenhiu Zeng of China ranked sixth.
Completing the Top 8 cast, in order, are Nakayama, Nishiya, Leal, Zwetsloot, Nishimura, Zend, Didal, and American Alexis Sablone.
In a surprising turn of events, top Brazilian skateboarders Leticia Bufoni, Didal's idol, and Pamela Rosa, the world No. 1 athlete and the 2019 world champion, crashed out of medal contention.
The final is set later afternoon at 12:30 p.m