World Street Skateboarding Rome 2022: Preview, schedule, star skateboarders and how to watch
The very best in street skateboarding are gathering under the might of Rome’s majestic Colosseum to launch their qualification campaigns for Paris 2024. Here’s everything you need to know about the event streaming live on Olympics.com.
Skateboarding
The road to Paris 2024 for street skateboarders starts this week at the World Skate Street Skateboarding Championships in Rome, Italy.
WATCH: 'World Street Skateboarding Rome 2022 live on Olympics.com.
The week-long Pro Tour event, running from 26 June to 3 July, is the first of the 2022 season where skateboarders can earn points for their Olympic World Skateboard Ranking (OWSR).
The final OWSR standings on 24 June, 2024, will be used to determine which athletes have successfully booked their ticket to the Games in France’s capital, meaning every point gathered along the way is vital.
The very best skaters on the street scene, including all six Tokyo 2020 medallists, are down to begin their Olympic bids at the Parco del Colle Oppio and Terme di Traiano skate park, marking this competition as one not to be missed.
As we patiently wait for the competition to get underway you can enjoy our look-back to skateboarding's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 here.
Street Skateboarding championships Rome 2022: Competition format
The 2022 World Skate street skateboarding championships will begin with athletes competing in an open qualifier.
Skaters will have two opportunities to produce a ‘best run.’ The top 32 per gender with the best scores will then advance to the quarterfinals.
The Tokyo 2020 medallists and top five ranked athletes in the OWSR as of 24 May will skip the open qualifier stage and will be pre-seeded directly into the quarterfinals.
For the women’s competition these are Pamela Rosa (1), Rayssa Leal (2), Nishimura Aori (3), Nishiya Momiji (5) and Nakayama Funa (11).
For the men’s event these are Nyjah Huston (1), Horigome Yuto (2), Shirai Sora (3), Kelvin Hoefler (4) and Gustavo Ribeiro (5).
Like the open qualifier, skaters will have two runs to produce their best to punch their ticket for the semi-finals. This time, however, only the top 16 will progress through.
The semi-finals will then employ the new Olympic scoring format (2/5/3) to determine which eight athletes will advance to the final.
The final, as with the semi-final, will also be using the new format 2/5/3 to establish the event winners and podium finishers.
READ: How the scoring street skateboarding will work for Paris 2024
World Skate street skateboarding championships in Rome schedule
Sunday 26 June
Open qualifier practice sessions for men and women - 08:30 - 17:35
Monday 27 June
Open qualifier practice sessions for men and women - 08:30 - 17:35
Tuesday 28 June
Open qualifier practice sessions for men and women - 08:30 - 17:35
Women's pre-seeded skaters’ practice - 17:40 - 18:25
Men's pre-seeded skaters' practice - 18:30 - 19:15
Wednesday 29 June
Women’s open qualifier - 08:45 - 13:45
Women's pre-seeded skaters’ practice - 14:45 - 15:30
Men's pre-seeded skaters' practice - 15:35 - 16:20
Thursday 30 June
Men’s open qualifier - 08:30 - 19:05
Women's pre-seeded skaters' practice - 19:10 - 19:55
Men's pre-seeded skaters' practice - 20:00 - 20:45
Friday 1 July
Women's quarterfinals - 10:20 - 13:05
Men's quarterfinals - 15:55 - 18:40
Saturday 2 July
Women’s semi-finals - 16:30 - 19:05
Men's semi-finals - 19:30 - 22:05
Sunday 3 July
Women's finals - 19:00 - 20:15
Men's finals - 21:00 - 22:15
Awards ceremony - 22:30 - 23:00
(All times listed are in CEST and all times are subject to changes)
Street skateboarding championships 2022: Stars to watch
When it comes to men's street skateboarding there is one man who reigns supreme: Nyjah Huston.
The 26-year-old American arrived in Tokyo for the Olympic Games as the man to beat thanks to his well-reported prodigious talents on a board.
But his time in Japan didn’t exactly stick to the script.
The No.1 ranked skater in the world finished up in seventh place in what many dubbed to be a ‘major upset.’ Huston failed to land any of his last four tricks leaving the door open to his competition who capitalised on his mistakes.
The beginning of the qualifying process for Paris 2024 will mean a fresh start for the American who will no doubt come to Rome with his star-power packed in tow. The question is: can he deliver where he couldn’t last time?
If Huston is the 'style star' then Olympic champion Horigome Yuto is king of consistency.
The Japanese skateboarder will touch down in Rome with a target on his back thanks to his ability to deliver under pressure.
In his first competition since winning his historic gold in his hometown of Tokyo the 23-year-old Japanese rider brought his best to win gold at the inaugural X Games in Chiba.
A series of new tricks, including a nollie backside 180 switch front Smith grind were set Horigome apart from the rest of the field.
Just how the reigning champ and proven competition winner perform in these qualifiers will provide the bar for what we can expect from the Olympic qualifiers going forwards.
In the women’s event all eyes will be on Olympic champion Nishiya Momiji to see if she can pick up where she left off in Tokyo.
But, according to the Japanese star, a lot has changed since then.
As well as growing eight centimetres since her win at her home Games, Japan’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist has found the spotlight placed on her challenging.
The ever-growing attention surrounding her has inspired her to turn towards the creative side of skateboarding once again, to take the pressure off competing.
Will the 14-year-old's refreshed approach see her successful again in Rome?
Fronting the pack chasing down Nishiya will be Rayssa Leal whose fame trajectory sky-rocketed after Tokyo 2020.
Not only did the 14-year-old capture silver in Japan, but she also inspired Olympic fans around the world with her supportive, friendly energy.
Leal was seen supporting and hugging her competitors as they debuted their sport to the Olympics for the first time.
Perhaps worryingly for the rest of the field since her silver in at the Games the teen skateboarding sensation has only progressed.
Earlier this year she underlined her intent to become the world’s best when she took gold in her maiden X Games in Chiba city. Leal cried tears of joy as she picked up her first medal in the prestigious skateboarding event.
MORE: The most asked questions about teen sensation Rayssa Leal
Huston, Horigome, Leal and Nishiya are just a handful of names promising to deliver something big in Rome, but they aren't the only ones.
Two-time street world champion Pamela Rosa and Tokyo 2020 men's silver medallist Kelvin Hoefler will be joining Leal in representing Brazil and both know a thing or two about winning big.
And without Leticia Bufoni in the fray for the event there will be less inter-compatriot competition.
Just like Brazil, Japan and the US will also be out in force.
2021 world bronze medallist Shirai Sora and Tokyo 2020 third-place runner up Nakayama Funa will be looking to better their lot under the eye of the Colosseum as too will dual-threat American Jagger Eaton and two-time X Games gold medallist Mariah Duran from Team USA.
Keep a watchful eye out too for Frenchmen Vincent Milou and Aurelien Giraud, Filipina Margielyn Didal and Dutchwoman Roos Zwetsloot who all put down top 10 performances in Japan.
Street Skateboarding Championships 2022: How to watch the Paris 2024 qualifiers
The World Skate Street Skateboarding Championships takes place from Sunday 26 June to Sunday 3 July in Rome, Italy.
You can stream all the action from the street skateboarding Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com.