American 21-year-old surfer Caroline Marks wins her first surfing world title, defeating Olympic champion
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — American surfer Caroline Marks won her first world title on Saturday, defeating Olympic champion and five-time world champion Carissa Moore.
On her way to the World Surf League final, the 21-year-old defeated fellow American Caitlin Simmers and Australia’s Tyler Wright before taking on Moore in the gold-medal match. There, she won the first two heats comfortably scoring 17.10 and 14.60 out of a maximum 20 points.
“There’s definitely going to be a massive party after this and everyone is invited!” Marks told the WSL afterwards. “For real, thank you to everyone who has supported me, all this wouldn’t be possible without everyone. My family, they’re everything to me and the fact they’re all here, it’s the biggest dream ever.”
“This whole week has been magical and everyone from Florida has been supporting me and I can’t believe it,” she added.
Marks became just the fourth women’s world champion in the last 15 years, after Moore, Wright and Stephanie Gilmore have dominated the sport.
Originally from Florida, Marks and her family moved to California in order to support her surfing and she was one of the youngest surfers to ever qualify for the championship tour five years ago.
Marks also qualified for the 2024 Olympics with her world title win, securing the final spot available for the USA through the WSL Championship Tour.
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