TAHITI, — Caroline Marks narrowly defeated Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb to win gold in the women's surfing shortboard event at the Paris Olympics.
Marks won 10.50-10.33 and escaped a close comeback attempt from Weston-Webb. She earned 7.5 points for successfully riding a wave about midway through the 35-minute match. A three-point wave was her second-highest score.
Weston-Webb's top score sat at 5.83 with under two minutes remaining when she found one last wave hoping to take the lead. Judges gave Weston-Webb a 4.50 for the wave, leaving her fewer than two-tenths short of gold.
Surfing scores are composed of the two highest-scored waves made by a competitor. A panel of judges scores the waves for difficulty, variety, speed, and more.
The Paris Olympics surfing competitions were held in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, which is a French territory. The events were postponed twice in two-day periods due to dangerous weather conditions.
Marks' gold is the second straight for the United States in the event. Carissa Moore won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Team USA is the only nation to win a gold medal in the Olympic women's surfing event, which debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The United States has yet to win a medal in the men's surfing event.
It's not the first big win of Marks' career. She won the 2023 World Surf League title and scored a silver medal at the 2019 World Surfing Games.
Johanne Defay of France took the bronze after beating Croatia's Brisa Hennessy.
