Japan's stranglehold on street skateboarding continues at the WST World Cup in Rome

The World Skate Tour touched down in Rome for its first stop of the 2026 season — and with 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon, the stakes couldn't be higher. Every trick, every run, every point now officially counts toward Olympic qualification.

Here's how the selection system for Olympic athletes will go down:

As for this weekend's event, the Eternal City delivered on the drama, the heat was relentless as usual and Ryan Decenzo on the mic kept the energy exactly where it needed to be.

A few notable names were missing from the start list. Nyjah Huston, Yuto Horigome, Deyvid Anderson Tuesta and Kristoffer Kroon to name a few — no official word on most of them, though Nyjah was clearly recovering from the latest nasty head injury he had in the last month. Their absence opened the door for some fresh storylines.

Open Qualifiers: 131 riders, 32 spots

The grind was real. Out of 131 competitors, only 32 made the cut — and some familiar names didn't survive. Kristion Jordan, Manny Santiago, Micky Papa and Vincent Milou all packed their bags early, which nobody had penciled in.

Kenji Haruta

Kenji Haruta

On the flip side, 11-year-old Firas Kirin from Thailand made it through and turned every head in the park. And in what might be the feel-good moment of the event, Ginwoo Onodera — out since a nasty injury at WST São Paulo earlier this year — made his return and punched his ticket to the next round.

watch the full qualifiers here

Quarterfinals & Semifinals: upsets and surprises

The top 8 ranked skaters came in pre-seeded, joining the 32 top skaters from the qualifiers. Unfortunately, Matt Berger had a tough day, and Jagger Eaton — fresh off winning Tampa Pro and a runner-up finish at the last SLS — got bounced earlier than anyone expected.

Semis brought it down to 16 skaters and forced riders to rise up to the next level. Yakov Terrel went full send with heavy tricks and fed off massive crowd support trying to reach his first final. Ginwoo Onodera looked a bit rusty, falling twice on the same flip trick, something that doesn't usually happen with him.

watch the full quarterfinals breakdown here

Kenji Haruta

Kenji Haruta

Meanwhile, Toa Sasaki — winner of the last WST event — was as dominant as ever, topping the semifinal runs. Kudos to Juni Kang, dropping the only 90+ score of the competition to that point, by pulling a Yutornado to steal the last finals spot.

watch the full semifinals breakdown here

Finals: japan locks down the podium

Sora Shirai and Toa Sasaki both opened with massive first runs, recycling their best tricks from semis with even more authority. Five runs cracked the 80s — this was elite-level street skating, full stop. Julian Agliardi even threw down a never-been-done best trick for a 92.67 and showed everyone he belongs at this level.

But in the end, Sora Shirai took the win and extended his world ranking lead.

watch the full finals breakdown here

World Skate

World Skate

Japan filled the podium once more — and with Olympic points now officially in play, you can bet the rest of the field is taking notes.

The road to LA28 has officially begun.