2004 has been one of the most exciting years in competitive skateboarding, thanks to the riders who continue to push the limits of the sport.

Even though he claims to be more focused on his family, Bucky Lasek has made a nearly clean sweep of medals in the last year. At the end of 2003, he won the Gravity Games and X Games Vert and Vert Doubles gold medals, and then followed it up with another win at the US Championships of Skateboarding. So far in 2004, he has picked up golds at the Slam City Jam in Vancouver, the Vans Triple Crown in Cleveland and the X Games. His success is due in large part to the fact that he knows how to do technical tricks, bigger than anybody else and he does them consistently.

Bob Burnquist is a legend in skateboarding. In 2001, he was awarded the highest score ever for a vert run, a 99.00. He was voted Transworld’s best vert rider for 2000, 2001 and 2002. In 2003, he won the Vans Triple Crown Championships, and, at the end of that year, became the first skateboarder to pull a natural full-pipe. In the last year, Bob has spent a lot of time getting his pilot’s license and jumping out of planes.

After his vert gold medal at X Games and best trick gold medal at Gravity Games in 2002, Pierre Luc Gagnon has done nothing but improve. He picked up another gold at the Soul Bowl in England this year and a silver at X Games. He is the only skater on the ramp doing a nollie heelflip 360.

And the rest of the vert field is no laughing matter. Sandro Dias became the second skater to pull a 900 at the Latin X Games in Rio. Since then, he has pulled it at the X Games and MSS events in Dulles, Niagara Falls and Sacramento. Danny Mayer became a best trick star earlier this year when he pulled a kick flip mctwist and then stepped it up to a kickflip varial mctwist. And Jake Brown, with his 720s and double kickflip mute and his “all or nothing” attitude might just take them all down.

On park, there is no shortage of talent as stars like Daniel Vieira, Paul Rodriguez and Wolnei Dos Santos fill out the field.
At the Cincinnati MSS, Wolnei and Benji Galloway showed their mettle with a pair of 10-foot ollies off the subwall to the wedge. In Nagara Falls, Wolnei pulled a gap ollie to 50/50 down the square rail, taking it to his shoulder at least five times before landing it perfectly.

Paul Rodriguez made big waves when he took the gold medal on street at X Games X. With a talent to make switch tricks look just as easy as regular, P Rod signed a deal with Nike early this year and plans to make skateboarding into a career for himself.

Bastien Salabanzi is no stranger to competition himself. He won the Globe World Championships for the third time in 2004 and picked up another gold at the Tampa Pro. He has a big section in the Flip video, Really Sorry.

And then there’s 2003 X Games and Gravity Games gold medalist, Ryan Sheckler. You may have seen him on Teen Nickelodeon or in the new Almost video. This year, he left home study to go back to school and has been spending more time on his motocross bike.

No matter what, the 2004, US Championships of Skateboarding will be a show you don’t want to miss.