WST: Street World Championships 2023 Japan Preview

In a testament to how much of an impact the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 had on skateboarding culture in Japan, Tokyo is set to hold the 2023 WST Street World Championships starting next week. 

The athletes are set to compete at Ariake Urban Sports Park, which is just a few blocks away from where the sport made its Olympic debut. Running from Dec. 10-17, the competition is the last (and perhaps the biggest) WST event of the year. It marks a major milestone in Phase 1 of qualifying for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and is the fifth points event that counts towards Paris qualification overall. All skaters will be coming in with their best tricks locked and loaded, looking to excite what is surely to be a fervent crowd. A breakdown of the course layout can be found here.

Team USA will bring a roster loaded with talent, highlighted by three skaters looking for their second consecutive Olympic bid in as many opportunities as possible.

Of those returning to Tokyo, perhaps the most notable name is 29-year-old Nyjah Huston. The Davis, California, native who has been skating professionally for 18 years has a chance to keep his current undefeated streak alive next week. 

Huston, who rides goofy-footed, has won every Paris qualifying event he has competed in, and sits in second place in the world Olympic street skateboarding rankings. Huston did not compete in the second points event, the 2022 Street World Championships in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. French skateboarder Aurelien Giraud, who won that event, is in first place overall. Back in June at the Paris qualifying event in Rome, Huston dominated the field. His runs were nearly perfect, taking the top podium spot by a massive 13-point margin. This result is even more impressive given the fact that he was just 10 months removed from a torn ACL. After the win, Huston told Olympics.com that it was “stressful” not knowing “if (his) knee was ever going to feel the same.” After Rome, it appears as if his knee feels better than ever, as he skates with newfound joy once again.

Perhaps the biggest name to watch on the women’s side next week will be 15-year-old Paige Heyn. The Arizona native who hopes her success can inspire others has had a breakout year in 2023, including a WST podium, a Street League Skateboarding podium and a Pan American Games podium. She captured bronze medals at the WST street event in Lausanne, Switzerland and the Pan  American Games Santiago 2023, and hopes to end 2023 with another fantastic finish. Heyn is currently the top-ranked U.S. women’s street skater at 9th place in the women’s street Olympic worlds standings.

Team USA Olympian Mariah Duran will also be competing. The Albuquerque, New Mexico native has competed in all four points qualifying events and sits in 18th overall in the women’s street standings. So far, Duran’s top finish in a points event is 12th at the 2022 street world championships.

The other returning men’s street Olympians are Jake Ilardi and Tokyo bronze medalist, Jagger Eaton.

Eaton, the 22-year-old regular-footed skater is the only athlete who competes in both park and street, and recently picked up a gold medal at the 2022 Park World Championships in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, which occurred in February 2023. He currently sits in ninth place in the overall world Olympic street rankings after not competing in the first points qualifying event. Eaton has finished in the top 10 in two of the three points events he has competed in, and will be looking to improve upon his 14th place finish at the 2023 WST street event in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Additional U.S. athletes competing in the women's competition include Poe Pinson, Meagan Guy and, Christine Cottam.

On the men's side of the bracket U.S. fans will be able to see Chris Joslin, Alex Midler, Braden Hoban, Jamie Foy, Dashawn Jordan, Lazer Crawford, Mike Piwowar and, Zach Saraceno all compete in the qualifier rounds with hope of advancing to the finals.

Live streaming of the event will be available starting with the semi-finals on December 16th. Viewers can watch on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com