Tokyo Olympics: Margielyn Didal advances to skateboarding final

The Philippines’ Margielyn Arda Didal reacts as she competes in the women’s street preliminary round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Sports Park Skateboarding in Tokyo on Monday, July 26, 2021. (Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP)

TOKYO–Margielyn Didal qualified for the finals of the street discipline of skateboarding in the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, July 26, 2021, at Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Ranking as high as third in the preliminaries, Didal survived a nerve wracking wait and watched chasers like Belgium’s Lore Bruggeman falter.

But perhaps the biggest break Didal, who scored 12.02, got was the shocking fall of highly fancied Brazilians Pamela Rosa and Leticia Bufoni.

Rosa, the world No. 1, dropped to 10th place while Bufoni, a former world No. 1 currently ranked fourth, finished ninth.

Didal eventually qualified as the seventh placer in the preliminaries.

Only the top eight skaters after the classification round advance to the finals later Monday.

Hometown bet Nakayama Funa, the world No. 11, topped the heats with a score of 15.77 while fellow Japanese skater Nishiya Momiji, No. 5 in the world, was at second after scoring 15.40.

World No. 2 Rayssa Leal, who hails from Brazil, finished with a score of 14.91 for third with the Netherlands’ Roos Zwetsloot, ranked No. 7 in the world, was at fourth with a mark of 13.48. World No. 3 Nishimmura Aori came in at fifth with a tally of 12.82.

China’s Zheng Wenhui, No. 21 in the world, came in at sixth with a 12.31 mark while the United States’ Alexis Sablone, No. 12 in the world, rounded out the top 8 with an 11.77 score. With reports from Bong Lozada, INQUIRER.net