A Filipino skateboarder won the Philippines’ fourth gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
On Wednesday at the JSC Skateboard Stadium in Palembang, Margielyn Didal, 19, became the fifth Filipino woman ever to win an Asian Games gold medal and the only athlete to win a medal in skateboarding. All of the gold medals the country has taken so far at the 2018 Games were won by women, Rappler reported.
Didal won against Isa Kaya of Japan and Bunga Nyimas of Indonesia, who won the silver and bronze medals respectively. Didal scored 30.4 points, beating Kaya’s scored of 25.0 points and Nyimas’ score of 19.8 points.
With her gold medal win, Didal will receive at least PHP6 million (US$112,198) in incentives from the Philippine government and private patrons.
The Filipina skateboarder, who is from Cebu, is the daughter of a carpenter and a sidewalk vendor. She said she will use her winnings to set up a small business for her family
The Philippines won four gold medals so far. Hidilyn Diaz won in weightlifting, Yuka Saso won in the women’s individual category in golf and Saso, Bianca Pagdangan and Lois Kaye Go won in the women’s team category in golf.
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