Global Skateboarding Standings Take Shape as LA28 Olympic Qualifiers Begin

The two-year countdown to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games has officially begun, and the global skateboarding hierarchy is already being rewritten. With the conclusion of the World Skate Tour (WST) Park World Cup in Rome this week, the first crucial ranking points of the Olympic qualification window have been awarded.[1][2]

The event in Ostia, Italy, marked the opening of "Phase 1" of the LA28 qualification pathway, a grueling 18-month circuit that will determine which athletes earn the right to compete for Olympic gold.[3][5]

In the Women's Park division, the bar was immediately raised to unprecedented heights. Japan's Hasegawa Mizuho captured the top spot with a record-breaking score of 96.33—the highest mark ever recorded in a women's WST Park final.[2]

Mizuho's flawless run, which featured a perfectly landed 360 varial, edged out Great Britain's Sky Brown, who posted a massive 93.38 to secure second place. Brown, a two-time Olympic medalist and the 2026 World Champion, demonstrated that she remains a dominant force, finishing ahead of Japanese Olympic silver medalist Cocona Hiraki.[2]

On the Men's Park side, Spain's Egoitz Bijueska entered the Rome event with a staggering lead in the World Skateboarding Rankings. Following his victory at the WST São Paulo World Championships in March, Bijueska held a 64,000-point advantage over Brazil's Kalani Konig.[1]

The American park scene also showed early strength on the road to a home-country Olympics. California's Tom Schaar and Minna Stess, both fresh off podium finishes in Brazil, are positioned well within the top ten of their respective global rankings.[1]

While Park skaters battle on the WST circuit, the Street discipline is currently being defined by the 2026 Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour.[4]

In the Men's SLS Arena standings, 16-year-old Japanese phenom Ginwoo Onodera has established himself as the undisputed skater to beat. Onodera leads the tour with 20 points following a mathematically historic performance at the season opener in Sydney.[4][6]

During that Sydney final, Onodera became the first skater in the league's 16-year history to score a 9.0 or higher on every single attempt, finishing with a total score of 37.3. He currently sits ahead of Julian Agliardi and Giovanni Vianna in the overall standings.[4][6]

The Women's SLS standings are equally fiercely contested, with Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal maintaining her grip on the top spot. Leal, a four-time SLS Super Crown World Champion, secured an early lead by winning the Sydney stop with a clutch performance in the single-trick section.[4][6]

Leal is closely trailed in the standings by Australia's Chloe Covell and Japan's Liz Akama, highlighting the intense international parity at the top of the women's street division.[4][6]

For both Street and Park athletes, the ultimate goal is navigating the complex LA28 qualification system. Phase 1 relies entirely on the World Skateboarding Tour, where athletes accumulate points to boost their World Skateboarding Ranking (WSR).[3][7]

At the conclusion of Phase 1 in March 2028, only the top 44 athletes in each discipline and gender—capped at a maximum of six per country—will advance to Phase 2.[5][7]

Phase 2 will consist of the Q-Series, a standalone four-city contest series held in May and June of 2028. The points earned during these final events will finalize the 22 coveted Olympic quota spots per discipline.[1][3][5]

With the WST Street World Cup set to follow immediately in Rome, the global standings will continue to shuffle. For now, the sport's elite have drawn their first lines in the concrete, setting a blistering pace for the 2026 season.[1][3]