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LOOK: Margielyn Didal's charisma a scene-stealer in Tokyo Olympics

Published Jul 26, 2021 10:44 pm

Margielyn Didal may have ended her Olympic campaign in Tokyo without a medal, but she definitely won the hearts of skateboarding and sports fans around the world.

Margielyn Didal of the Philippines flexes her arms wrapped in tattoos during the skateboarding women's street final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Sports Park in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (AFP)

Didal showed a promising performance after landing seventh in the final of the women's street skateboarding at the Ariake Sports Urban Park, shrugging off the pain from bad falls.

The 22-year-old Cebuana maintained her charismatic aura by consistently waving to the crowd, flashing a huge smile on her face, and raising a thumbs up to signal that she was out there living the dream and enjoying the time of her life.

In a Twitter post by the Tokyo Olympics @Tokyo2020, Didal made waves on social media with an iconic photo captioned, "This will be known as the "Margielyn Didal seal approval" accompanied with a pair of Philippine flags.

The post garnered around 4,300 retweets and 16,600 likes as of this writing.

Another Tweet showed Didal flexing her arms wrapped with tattoos, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics being the scene-stealer.

"It's for the Philippines, para sa bayan," Didal, who was already teary-eyed, said when asked by One Sports correspondent Gretchen Ho about her mindset entering the final.

"Lahat. Lahat close . I mean, komportable naman and we're here for each other, we cheer up for each other and that's how skateboarding is."

Didal, the 2018 Asian Games and 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, is known for being that friendly skateboarder from the Philippines, admitting that she is indeed friends with all the competitors in the Tokyo Games.

She would give high fives and reach out for huge hugs on fellow skateboarders and one example was when world No. 2 Rayssa Leal of Brazil, 13, took the lead after getting 4.21 points in her third trick in the final.

After Didal finished her last trick, the joyful skateboarder turned to the crowd and shouted "Arigato" -- a simple "thank you" in English -- which left a cheerful aura at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

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Margielyn Didal Tokyo Olympics 2020 Tokyo Olympics 2021 Tokyo Olympics
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