On one of the hottest days of summer, the Simple Session finals went down, with Spain’s veteran shredder Danny Leon snagging gold with a score of 87.91. Sharing the podium with him were some of the youngest rippers in the competition.
The qualifiers were all about the Olympic showdown between Danny Leon and Argentina’s Matias Dell Olio, but the finals saw the young guns step it up. 15-year-old Issei Sakurai from Japan threw down a trick-heavy second run, scoring 86.48 and landing him in second place. Last year’s champ, 14-year-old Julian Agliardi from the USA, took a big risk in his final run, going for a frontside kickflip blunt he hadn’t even tried in practice. It paid off with an 84.95, earning him bronze and the title for the best street trick.
For 29-year-old Danny Leon, this is his fifth Simple Session medal—he won gold in 2020, silver in 2023 behind Agliardi, bronze in 2017, and silver in 2015.
“This year’s level was insanely high. There were so many killer skaters from the US and Japan, so I couldn’t be sure of my win,” Danny Leon commented, joking that if you add up the ages of the second and third place skaters, you get his age—29. “My main goal was to keep my runs clean. I love big airs, and when a contest mixes park and street elements, it really pushes the riders.”
Leon promised he’ll be back next year, bringing along all his homies: “I love big arenas like the one in Tallinn, but every Simple Session is special. What matters most to me is that skating is fun.”
Judge Kristjan Prik said the battle for first and second was tight, with trick variety being the deciding factor. “Both Danny and Issei packed their best runs with tricks, and the level was super consistent, with a good mix of speed and technicality,” Prik explained. “Julian had one fall, which cost him, otherwise he could’ve scored higher too.”
The only Estonian to make it to the finals, Meelis Erm, who placed in the top 15 out of 48 skaters, was 8th after his first clean run (59.75) but ended up in 12th. “Last year, I was 13th, this year 12th, so next year 11th,” Erm joked, adding that he was stoked with his performance. “The first run was more of a warm-up, playing it safe with the same stuff as in the qualifiers. In the second run, I planned to step it up, which I did, but the third and fourth tricks got messy, and that was it.” Erm also won the LHV Best Estonian title and the Balcia Best Baltic Rider award.
In the park discipline, Pedro Quintas took the Maison Beast best trick with a frontside kickflip stalefish over the big quarterpipe gap. Julian Agliardi took the best street trick with his frontside kickflip blunt.
Final Standings:
Danny Leon, ESP, 87.91
Issei Sakurai, JPN, 86.48
Julian Agliardi, USA, 84.95
Matias Dell Olio, ARG, 84.81
Pedro Quintas, BRA, 83.75
Alex Decunha, GBR, 76.41
Marcelo Jimenez, CHI, 76.25
Aaron Jaws Homoki, USA, 74.98
Ritsuki Takenaka, JPN, 71.48
Jaime Mateu, ESP, 69.18
Jake Wooten, USA, 62.35
Meelis Erm, EST, 59.75
Piero Nunez, PER, 52.51
Stellio Sakellarides, FRA, 51.41
Simon Gerber, SUI, 50.26
Photo gallery: Simple Session on Flickr