Ginwoo Onodera is the men's street skateboarding world champion. The Japanese skater took the title at the 2026 World Skate Games in Asunción, Paraguay, on Sunday 18 October. He sealed it on his final trick attempt, landing a Bigflip Front Blunt Bigspin to edge Korea's Juni Kang.
Decided on the last attempt, by 2.94 points
The final brought together eight skaters, among them Japan's Onodera, Kairi Netsuke, Taiga Nagai and Toa Sasaki, Korea's Juni Kang, Brazil's Giovanni Vianna and Ivan Monteiro, and Peru's Angelo Caro. Kang set the pace in the trick session, scoring 90.11 on his second attempt to move briefly into first place. Onodera had to answer, and the title hung on his last trick.
Kang's best run had been 89.21, which left him second behind Onodera at that stage. On his final attempt, Onodera landed a high-difficulty trick for 92.12 points, moving past Kang.
Onodera finished on 182.26 points to Kang's 179.32, a margin of just 2.94. Taiga Nagai of Japan took bronze with 166.18.
In Saturday's semifinal, Onodera topped the standings with 170.60 points, just ahead of Kang on 170.23 and Netsuke in third. For Kang, silver was the best result ever by a South Korean skateboarder at the World Championships.
A first world crown at sixteen, on the road to LA28
Onodera was born in Yokohama in February 2010, which made him 16 in Asunción. This was his first world title. His previous best at the championships was bronze in 2023 in Sharjah, where, at age 12, he became the youngest men's street world medallist.
The climb since has been steady. He won X Games street gold in Chiba in 2023, and again in 2026 in Chiba and Sacramento, and took Asian Games bronze at Aichi-Nagoya in 2026. In December 2025 he won his first SLS Super Crown World Championship at age 15, and he skated for Japan at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 2026 event doubled as an Olympic qualifier, the first big points stop on the road to Los Angeles 2028. Japan swept both street titles in Asunción, with Mami Oda taking the women's gold. For Onodera, the world title is the piece his young career had not yet held.
