Caroline Marks Secures Gold in Women's Surfing at Paris Olympics

Caroline Marks narrowly edged out Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb to claim the gold medal in the women's shortboard surfing event at the Paris Olympics. Marks won with a score of 10.50 to Weston-Webb's 10.33, holding off a late challenge from her competitor.

Marks earned 7.5 points for a successful wave midway through the 35-minute final, while a three-point wave was her second-highest score. Weston-Webb's highest score was 5.83, and with less than two minutes left, she caught a final wave hoping to secure the lead. However, her score of 4.50 on that wave fell just short, leaving her less than two-tenths of a point away from gold.

Surfing made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and scores are determined by the two highest-scoring waves of each competitor, judged on difficulty, variety, and speed. The surfing events at the Paris Olympics took place in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, and were delayed twice due to adverse weather conditions.

Marks' victory continues Team USA's dominance in the women's surfing event, following Carissa Moore's gold medal in Tokyo. The U.S. remains the only nation to have won gold in the Olympic women's surfing event.

Marks also won the 2023 World Surf League title and earned a silver medal at the 2019 World Surfing Games. Johanne Defay of France secured the bronze medal after defeating Croatia’s Brisa Hennessy.