TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti — Team USA’s Caroline Marks won the gold medal on the final day of surfing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Patience, strategy, and her supreme skill paid off as Marks competed in the last match of the day, wrapping up the competition that spanned across 10 days.

“It's incredible,” Marks said. “It's really hard to kind of put into words what this feeling is like. I don't really even know yet. I feel like it hasn't really hit me yet. I'm just really happy and trying to soak everything in. It's probably the best day of my life.”

Marks (Melbourne Beach, Florida) faced Tatiana Weston-Webb in the gold medal match. After waiting more than 10 minutes to find a wave to ride, both women made attempts that earned them minor scores. However, Marks found her opportunity, scoring a 7.50 on a well-executed barrel that gave her a solid lead. Her strategic ability to read the waves and maintain priority at key moments allowed her to take control of the competition. Weston-Webb scored a competitive 5.83 wave, but Marks capitalized on another opportunity, riding a small tube that she combined with strong turns for a 3.0. Despite the tension after the final buzzer, Weston-Webb’s last attempt, which earned her a 4.50, was not enough to surpass Marks' total score of 10.50. Weston-Webb fell just short with a score of 10.33, trailing by only 0.17 points.

“Once they announced she didn't get enough [points for Weston-Webb to win], I was just like, oh my gosh. I just burst into tears, just super emotional,” Marks said. “Your whole life goes into a moment like this, so it's just really special.”

Marks’ victory gives U.S. athletes back-to-back gold medals in the sport after Carissa Moore won the inaugural Olympic women’s surfing gold medal in Tokyo. Marks’ victory gave Team USA the 21st medal of the 2024 Games, elevating the United States to the top of the medal count when ranked by color or overall count.

“I just feel very proud,” Marks said. “I felt like my whole country was behind me. This is the biggest stage. This feels damn good.”

Earlier in the day in semifinal action, Marks narrowly beat out France's Johanne Defay, who went on to claim the bronze medal, as both surfers achieved a score of 12.17, but Marks came out ahead with the best individual wave score breaking the tie. Marks recorded waves of 7.00 and 5.17, while Defay scored waves of 6.50 and 5.67.

TEAM USA RESULTS

Caroline Marks:1st, women’s final: 10.50 (7.50, 3.00)W women’s semifinal, heat 1: 12.17 (7.00, 5.17)

OVERALL TEAM USA RANKINGS

Caroline Marks: 1st, women’s gold medalist

Carissa Moore: =5, eliminated in women’s quarterfinals

Caity Simmers: =9, eliminated in women’s Round 3

Griffin Colapinto: =9, eliminated in men’s Round 3

John John Florence: =9, eliminated in men’s Round 3

Full results from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 can be found here.

For more information, contact Katie Branham, 2024 U.S. Olympic Surfing Press Officer, at Katie@BranhamMedia.com or +1 719-237-9407.

Caroline Marks Wins Surfing Gold At Olympic Games

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