It is increasingly undeniable how talented the next generation of skateboarders is. Minds are blown while scrolling clips on Instagram or wandering the expanses of YouTube each morning, afternoon, and night. And that’s only including video that was intended for those platforms. More rarely produced full-length videos and skate contests are also hotbeds for innovation and provide proving grounds for new sponsored skateboarders to come to the public eye.
This past weekend, Vans Park Series hosted its World Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah. As usual, the best of the best transition skateboarders visited from all over the world to give it their best shot in competition. Yet this time, as it was the “World Championships,” the stakes were even higher.
In the Women’s Division, Japan maintained its dominance in the event with a clean podium sweep. Mami Tezuka put together a full run with her signature frontside smith grind and a disaster on the side of the extension to secure third place. Kokona Hiraki also repped Japan well with a full run including perfect nosegrinds, frontside and backside. And the winner was Sakura Yosozumi, using technically difficult tricks like her backside bigspin disaster, frontside blunt stall, and backside noseblunt revert.
The Men’s Division was also pretty heavy, resulting in a podium of American and Swedish riders. Tristan Rennie casually killed it, with an effortless style, bluntslides, nosegrinds, and even a 540. Second place went to Alex Sorgente, who spun his way to the Silver medal, showing 180 to switch crooks, half cab nosegrinds, and a cabellerial to end his run. But the big win ended up with Oskar Rozenberg of Malmö, Sweden. Oski brought the most creative lines containing some of the hardest hitting tricks that left the crowd in an uproar unmatched by any other skater. The technical skill shown in his run matched the hype he brought, which made him the 2019 World Champion of Vans Park Series.
Not to go unmentioned, Jake Wooten took a serious hit to the head only to please the crowd with one of the best runs of the weekend in the Semifinals. And Chris Russell brought the heat, with risky disasters on almost every wall. His hairball style and amplitude always makes him a fan favorite. Unfortunately, he did not make it to the podium this year.
After it was all said & done, the skatepark constructed for Vans Park Series stayed put for all of the locals in Salt Lake City to enjoy. The stoke is here to stay, and more will come next year!
Until then…