Skateboarding Standings Tighten as Road to LA28 Begins at WST Rome

The Road to LA28 officially begins this week in Italy. The World Skateboarding Tour (WST) World Cup kicks off in Rome on June 10, marking the opening of the 18-month Olympic qualification window for the world's elite skateboarders.[1]

In the Park discipline, the standings are currently dominated by European and Japanese skaters following the World Championships in São Paulo this past March. Spain's Egoitz Bijueska holds a commanding lead in the men's rankings, sitting a staggering 64,026 points ahead of Brazil's Kalani Konig.[1]

The women's Park standings are tightly contested at the very top. Great Britain's Sky Brown leads the pack after securing her second world title in São Paulo, but she is closely trailed by Japan's Hasegawa Mizuho and Australia's reigning Olympic champion Arisa Trew.[1]

Meanwhile, the Street discipline is seeing a historic surge from Japanese athletes. Toa Sasaki captured the men's street title in Brazil, cementing Japan's dominance in the highly technical street format as the Olympic window opens.[1][4]

But the WST Olympic qualifiers are only half the story in 2026. The world's top skaters are simultaneously navigating the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour, the sport's premier commercial and professional circuit.[4]

The 2026 SLS season opened earlier this year in Sydney with a record-breaking performance. Sixteen-year-old Japanese phenom Ginwoo Onodera achieved a milestone that had never been reached since the league's inception in 2010: scoring a "9 Club" on every single line and trick attempt.[2]

Onodera's total score of 37.3 put him at the top of the early SLS men's standings, ahead of rising American star Julian Agliardi and Brazil's Giovanni Vianna, who both nailed their final single trick attempts to secure podium finishes.[2][3]

In the women's SLS standings, Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal continues her reign. Leal secured a dramatic comeback victory in Sydney to take the early season lead, narrowly edging out Japan's Liz Akama and Australian hometown favorite Chloe Covell.[2]

The dual-tour grind presents a unique physical and strategic challenge for athletes in 2026. Skaters must balance the prestige and lucrative payouts of the SLS events with the mandatory WST stops required to secure a ticket to Los Angeles in 2028.[4]

For the United States, the pressure is mounting ahead of a home Olympics. The U.S. park scene is currently anchored by California-raised Tom Schaar and Minna Stess, both of whom secured bronze medals in São Paulo and sit comfortably in the global top 10.[1]

However, the American street skaters have ground to make up against the dominant Japanese and Brazilian contingents as the tour moves through Europe. Consistency across both the WST and SLS will be the deciding factor for those looking to peak in 2028.[1]

The upcoming Rome event will set the tone for the rest of the year's standings. Park competitors will battle at The Spot Skatepark in Ostia from June 10-14, followed by the Street competition at the Colle Oppio park overlooking the Colosseum from June 17-21.[1]