Cebuana skateboard champ makes Time’s 25 influential teens

Margielyn Didal

MANILA, Philippines — Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal is among Time Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Teens of 2018,” making the sole Filipino included on the list.

“This summer, the 19 year old from Cebu City, Philippines, won the gold medal in women’s street skateboarding competition at the Asian Games —and became a national hero in the process,” TIME said.

Those included on the list were determined by “accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news.”

Didal rose to prominence after bagging the gold medal in the women’s street skateboard competition during 2018 Asian Games held JSC SkateBoard Stadium in Palembang last April.

Didal finished with an average mark 30.4 points, 5.4 more than silver medalist Isa Kaya of Japan who had 25.

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Time said that Didal’s win paved a way for the public to consider skateboarding as a serious sport in the Philippines.

“I want to build a new generation of skaters for the future,” she told Time.

Apart from Didal, actresses Millie Bobby Brown, Storm Reid, Kiernan Shipka, Joey King and Korean boy group NCT Dream were also included on the list.

Also part of the annual list of the magazine were French footballer Kylian Mpabbe and American snowboarder Chloe Kim.

In 2017, two Filipino teens were included in the annual listing of influential teens around the globe. /cbb