Who is Caroline Marks? All about the American surfer who continued US tradition by winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Aug 06, 2024 07:43 GMT

Caroline Marks won the gold medal in the women's shortboard surfing at the Paris Olympics. The American athlete continued a winning tradition, clinching the USA's second consecutive medal in surfing since the sport's inception in the quadrennial Games on the final day of the surfing events at the Paris Olympics, being held in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.

The women's shortboard final turned out to be an incredible contest where the USA's Marks had the edge and won the contest with an overall score of 10.50 points whereas Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb took the silver medal with an overall score of 10.33 points. Marks caught a barrel ride early in the 35-minute final which proved to be crucial for her victory.

Marks spoke about her victory in an interview after the final:

"I'm just really happy and just trying to soak everything in, because it's probably the best day in my life. Once they announced (Weston-Webb) didn't get enough, I just burst into tears. Just super emotional—your whole life goes into a moment like this, so it's just really special." (as quoted by USA Today)

Caroline Marks' Early Life

Caroline Marks was born on February 14, 2002, in Boca Raton, Florida to Darren Marks and Sara Marks. She has five siblings. Marks began surfing competitively at the age of 8 after enjoying sports like skateboarding in her early life.

Caroline Marks' High School

Marks was a student of Lighthouse Christian Academy in West Melbourne, Florida.

Top performances of Caroline Marks

Caroline Marks at the World Surf League Championship Finals In El Salvador (Source: Getty)

Caroline Marks commenced her surfing career on tour in 2018. Following three podium finishes in 10 appearances, Marks was named the Rookie Athlete of the Year in 2018. She rose to worldwide fame for the first time in 2019 when she defeated three-time world Champion Carissa Moore to win her maiden World Surf League title in New South Wales.

She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after finishing second on the World Surf League tour in 2019, becoming the youngest surfer to qualify for the quadrennial Games. Marks finished fourth overall, missing out on the bronze medal to Amuro Tsuzuki of Japan.

The American surfer withdrew from the 2022 World Surf League and later explained that it was due to recurring mental and medical issues. She returned to center stage a year later and established her mark on the tour by winning the World Surf League Finals 2023 held in Lower Trestles, California.