Today’s World Championships from Rome did not disappoint! All eight women in the final were on fire, but at the end of the day, one American stood on the podium along with two Japanese skaters. At just seventeen years old, Minna Stess, from Petaluma, California, pulled off what no other American female park skater has done - she made the podium at Olympic Qualifiers. Minna’s third-place finish now makes her the highest-ranked American woman in park skateboarding, which is a considerable feat!

There was a lot of stiff competition from the Japanese skaters. Cocona Hiraki had three flawless runs, and Hinano Kusaki was able to bump Minna from second to third at one point, but no one else in the field could crack the 90s scoring-wise that these three had on lock. They were in a league of their own, and the crowd loved it! The only other American to make it to the finals was Ruby Lilley, who placed seventh with a score of 84.40.

It was an exciting event, and we hope you watch the replay and see how much women’s skateboarding has evolved in the past few years - simply amazing!

Congrats to all the women who competed today!

Results from WST Rome Park World Championships 2023 Women's Final

1. Hiraki Cocona (JPN) 94.54

2. Kusaki Hinano (JPN) 93.20

3. Minna Stess (USA) 90.80

4. Raicca Ventura (BRA) 87.59

5. Naia Laso (ESP) 86.25

6. Lilly Stoephasius (GER) 84.79

7. Ruby Lilley (USA) 84.40

8. Yosozumi Sakura (JPN) 83.53

It was a nail biting semi-final, but when the final run was tallied, these eight women made it to the World Championship’s final! From ages fourteen to twenty-one and hailing from five different countries this is truly one of the best finalist groups we have seen!

Two Americans out of the five made it to the finals, Minna Stess and Ruby Lilley - big congrats to these ladies!

Tune in on SUNDAY to watch the FINALS - LIVE!

8:15 AM PT / 11:15 AM ET

You can catch the action on WorldSkate.TV or Olympics.com

Today’s quarter-finals had 32 women competing for one of sixteen spots in the semi-finals. Tomorrow a total of eight skaters will move on to compete in the finals on Sunday for those three coveted podium places.

This is not only the World Championships but this Olympic Qualifier means more points for skaters as we head into the Paris Olympics - so there is a lot at stake!

These are the skaters that made it into Saturday’s semi-finals:

Women's SEMI-FINALISTS

1. Kokona Hiraki (JPN)

2. Raicca Ventura (BRA)

3. Hinano Kusaki (JPN)

4. Dora Varella (BRA)

5. Lillian Erickson (USA)

6. Sakura Yosozumi (JPN)

7. Ruby Lilley (USA)

8. Minna Stess (USA)

9. Naia Laso (ESP)

10. Isadora Pacheco (BRA)

11. Bryce Wettstein (USA)

12. Arisa Trew (AUS)

13. Ruby Trew (AUS)

14. Hyunju Cho (KOR)

15. Lilly Stoephasius (GER)

16. Grace Marhoefer (USA)

With five USA women in the semi-finals along with skaters from Brazil, Australia, Spain, Germany and Korea in the mix, it doesn’t feel as if Japan is fully dominating as it has in past years. This group of women should make for a great semi-final!

WATCH THE SEMI-FINALS LIVE:

SATURDAY:

6:30 AM PT / 9:30 ET

Livestream coverage of WST Rome Park 2023 World Championships will be available to watch worldwide on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com

USA Slalom Team Rider, Judi Oyama - Photo Tim Stahl

We are really excited to watch this event go down and we love that it’s LIVE - the USA women have dominated for years (Lynn Kramer and Judi Oyama) but we hear that some other countries are coming for the USA women hard and fast - so this should be the ultimate showdown!

This is a BIG deal!! They are expecting over 100 Racers at the World Championships of Slalom Skateboarding. This crown jewel of the 2023 global racing season, will take place September 29 - October 1, 2023 at Bush’s Pasture Park in Salem, Oregon.

USA Team Rider, Lynn Kramer - Photo Tim Stahl

The impressive roster of women’s racers ranges from young up and coming juniors - to the 16-Tme Women’s World Champion, Lynn Kramer – to legendary skateboarder and Skateboard Hall of Fame inductee, Judi Oyama

– and MANY more! This is going to an event for the record books with over 100 racers from 11 different countries and Women from 5 countries around the world.

Maggie Harrison is a USA Junior you should keep your eye on- she is making her mark! Photo Tim Stahl

The 2023 Slalom Skateboard World Championships is not only a huge step for Women’s Slalom Skateboarding, but also slalom skateboarding as a whole.

Current World Rankings as of August 2023

Key Event Details:

•  Date: September 29, 2023 – October 1, 2023

•  Location: Bush’s Pasture Park – 600 Mission Street SE, Salem, OR 97302

•  Schedule:

Friday September 29 – Giant Slalom (8am-6:30pm) – Finals 10:45am-2:00pm

Saturday September 30 – Hybrid Slalom (8am-6:30pm) – Finals 10:00am-2:00pm

Sunday October 1 – Tight Slalom (8am-5:30pm) – Finals 10:00am-2:00pm

*Note: The full schedule is posted on the usaslalomskateboarding.com website. Peak ac<on for viewing/media coverage is during Finals, which are noted in the schedule above.

You can watch the women compete LIVE on the official World Skate Channel (worldskate.tv) as well as other partner portals.

This three-day multi-camera “show” and will offer color commentary throughout to make sure the audience knows what they are seeing, who they are seeing and how everything works together.

Watch the full relay of the women’s Street Skateboarding World Championship Finals from Aljada skate park in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. On top of the coveted medals, these world championships will also offer Olympic ranking points - with Paris 2024 only 18 months away.

And stay tuned, because Women’s Park happens this weekend! More details here later in the week on when/where to watch LIVE!

RESULTS WOMEN’S STREET FINALS

1. Rayssa Leal - Brazil

2. Chloe Covell - Australia

3. Momiji Nishiya - Japan

4. Rizu Akama - Japan

5. Funa Nakayama - Japan

6. Gabriela Mazetto - Brazil

7. Paige Heyn - USA

8. Pamela Rosa - Brazil

Image via World Skate

We know how confusing it is to be able to get all the info on when and where to watch the women skate - especially since the World Skateboarding Championships for both Street and Park take place this year at the Aljada skate park. This amazing park is located in the heart of the Madar entertainment complex designed by internationally-acclaimed Zaha Hadid Architects in Sharjah, UAE.

This exciting event, will crown two new female world champions (one for park, one for street). Skateboarders will also get much needed ranking points as we head towards the Paris 2024 Olympics. So there is a LOT at stake!

Live stream hosts for both Park and Street will be Marc Churchill, Samantha Bruce and Danny Wainwright.

The championships have two parts, the World Street Skateboarding Championships (Feb 1-5) and the World Park Skateboarding Championships (Feb 8-12).

Women’s Street Semi Finals - Saturday, February 4th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST

Women’s Street Finals Sunday, February 5th

• Women finals - 4:40 PM - 5:50 PM Local time / 4:40 AM -5:50 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:50 PM - 8:20 PM Local Time / 7:50 AM - 8:20 AM PST

Women’s Park Semi-Finals - Saturday, February 11th

• Women semi-finals - 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM - 5:45 AM PST
  

Women’s Park Finals - Sunday, February 12th

• Women finals – 5:10 PM - 5:55PM Local Time / 5:10 AM - 5:55 AM PST

• Awards ceremony - 7:40 PM - 8:10 PM / 7:40 AM - 8:10 AM PST

Livestream coverage of world skateboarding championships will be available on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com without any geo-restrictions.

You can also catch the action LIVE on Worldskate.tv and Redbull.com