Ten-year-old Summerville competitive yo-yo player Grayson Rhea has returned home from Himeji, Japan, after finishing fourth in the Junior 16-and-Under Division at the 2026 World Yo-Yo Contest.
Rhea was the highest-placing U.S. junior at this year’s competition, which brought yo-yo players from around the globe to Japan for four days of international competition.
The result continues a rapid rise in a sport Rhea only began pursuing in June 2024.
At the contest, Rhea advanced through a field of 68 competitors in the Junior 16U Wildcard round, placing seventh and earning a spot in the World Junior Final. He went on to finish fourth in the final.
Rhea also competed in the open 1A Pro Wildcard, finishing 35th out of 129 competitors in a field that included adult and elite international players.
The fourth-place finish marks another major jump from Rhea’s first World Yo-Yo Contest in 2025, when he reached the Junior 16U Final and finished 12th.
Rhea is also the 2025 U.S. National 9U Champion. He reached the 1A Pro Semifinals at the 2026 U.S. National Yo-Yo Contest and earned second place in the Duos competition with his sister, Annabella.
Competition, however, is only part of what yo-yo has become for Rhea.
Through Operation Throw, Rhea uses yo-yo demonstrations and beginner workshops to introduce the sport to other children while encouraging persistence, confidence and connection. More than 300 yo-yos have been donated through his outreach efforts, with programs reaching military youth, libraries, museums and community organizations.
His 2026 outreach has included programs at Joint Base Charleston, Nellis Air Force Base, the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry and MUSC. Immediately before the world competition, he also hosted a youth demonstration and beginner workshop for the U.S. military community at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo.
Rhea also founded Lowcountry Throwers, a local yo-yo club that meets twice a month and gives beginners and experienced players a place to learn, practice and connect.
Now that he is home from Japan, Rhea is already turning his attention to what comes next.
On Oct. 24, Rhea and Lowcountry Throwers will host the inaugural Lowcountry Throwfest, a community yo-yo event featuring demonstrations, a freestyle showcase, a beginner trick ladder and opportunities for new players to try modern yo-yoing.
For Rhea, the goal extends beyond his own results.
“I want other kids to know you don’t have to be the best when you start. You just have to start,” Rhea said.
Rhea’s journey from learning his first tricks in 2024 to competing on the world stage was also recently featured by Lowcountry Parent, highlighting both his competitive rise and his efforts to grow the yo-yo community in the Lowcountry.