As night falls on a spectacular Sunday in Rome, the World Skateboarding Tour’s 2025 season reached its crescendo in the long shadows of the Colosseum. WST World Cup Rome 2025 has seen a fortnight of insane skateboarding action, first in Lido di Ostia for Park, and now in the city-centre Parco Colle Oppio for Street.
With upwards of 150 skateboarders from 45 nations registered to enter this second back-to-back contest of skateboarding’s two Olympic disciplines, Roman skateboarding fans were treated to a free extravaganza showcasing the global elite of youth culture’s most dynamic action sport.
Broadcasting live to the planet via World Skate TV, the Eternal city has taken its place in the pantheon of worldwide youth culture destinations with more visitors flying in each year just to witness the highest standard of skateboarding anywhere, first-hand.
Among the big surprises which the weekend produced was the absence for the first time on the World Skateboarding Tour of Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal from a WST final, her expected place usurped by first-time finalist Spain’s Daniela Terol, who looked nervous opening proceedings but stuck her first run and gave good account of herself against a field which included 3 Olympic medalists.
Funa Nakayama by way of contrast had a nightmare in the Run section, getting tied up twice on a niggling frontside feeble on a flatbar and only completing her third for a middling 69. She then tried to backside noseblunt the hubba three times and pulled an ace card with the last one to momentarily lead. Japanese frontrunners Momiji Nishiya and Yumeka Oda both failed to complete a Best Trick which is highly uncharacteristic of either- even with three attempts.
Ibuki Matsumoto made hard work of her Run section, only completing her third and got absolutely bodied on her kickflip frontside 50-50 attempts before sketching her final one for 79 and a power up from 7th to second.
However, the clear favourite in the field was Australia’s Chloe Covell who made all her runs like she was knocking in nails but still, in a highly unfeasible plot twist, failed to make the trick she has made her own twice. Surely she wouldn’t do this to herself again? No, she wouldn’t- with the crowd on its feet and the pressure boiling she whooped the Colle Oppio audience up before taking her crown with a stomped 50-50 kickflip out to complete a redemption arc that has been years in the making. The comeback was bigger than the come-up, and Chloe Covell has finally- finally- won her first World Skateboarding Tour stop.
If the Women’s contest was slightly haphazard through shaky scores suddenly turning into leaderboard-leaping Best Trick bumps (only Chloe Covell scored higher than 80 in the Run section, and only 25% of Best Tricks were makes) then Men’s was a more assured affair.
World number 1 Sora Shirai won, as he had been privately expected to, simply because he is too gifted not to. His first two runs were studies in effortless perfection, and he already had it in the bag with a last trick still to spare. Greatness moves amongst us in that guy, straight up.
Toa Sasaki was a commendable second by essentially reprising his 2024 World Championship form right down to the Caballerial fakie nosegrind Best trick he won that title with, while little Ginwoo Onodera replaces Chloe Covell as the ‘when, not if’ story of a victory yet to come. His switch flip frontside noseslide to 270 shove-it out was a WST first, and it had the crowd roiling with the sheer insanity of its technical difficulty.
Trick of the event went to Brazil’s Giovanni Vianna, however, with a Caballerial Bennett grind which almost sparked a riot.
As with Ostia last week, World Skate would like to move the focus of our outro from the skateboarders to the staff and volunteers who are the water on which our ship sails. You are too many to name, but you are seen and appreciated. Next stop, Washington DC.
Holla!
