Surfer Caroline Marks, 22, is among the star-studded athletes who took home gold during the Paris Games, adding another medal to Team USA’s growing shelf.
The goofy-footed rider joined CBS News on Friday to share more on her win. After four days of riding the Olympic high, she’s still processing what she calls the “biggest moment of [her] career.”
“It feels so surreal,” she told CBS News. “I’m just trying to feel all of the emotions but I don’t know if it’s fully soaked in yet.”
Gregory Bull / AP
Marks’ gold medal win upholds Team USA’s dominance in the sport of Olympic surfing, which debuted for the first time just three years ago at the Tokyo Games. American Carissa Moore, who also competed this year, won the inaugural gold medal in 2021.
Tahiti presented a fresh opportunity for Marks to showcase her beloved sport on the biggest world stage.
“I feel like it’s gotten so much more attention this year than Tokyo, which was really cool to see,” said Marks. “It was an honor to be a part of it.”
Ten thousand miles from the French mainland, the small island’s powerful and unpredictable waves made for an eventful showdown, with a whale even making a surprise appearance at one point.
Marks competed against contenders from over a dozen other countries during the five-day event, sheltering at a one-of-a-kind floating Olympic village during off hours. For the gold medal match-up, the Florida native narrowly beat Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil by a margin of .17 points.
She celebrated her win on social media, posting a picture of her wearing her medal and a wide grin with the caption: “Dreams come true 🥇 🇺🇸 all glory to God.”
Ben Thouard / AP
On the men’s side, Kauli Vaast, a French Polynesian native, out-surfed Australia’s Jack Robinson to capture the coveted gold medal.
The next summer Olympic Games in 2028 will unfold in the surfer-friendly waters of Los Angeles, California.
Until then, Marks is keeping plenty busy. In the coming days, she plans to travel back to Paris for the closing ceremony, and then make a quick pit stop at home before jetting off for another surfing excursion, this time in Fiji.
“I’m going to my next competition and then hopefully competing for the world title in September,” she told CBS News. “So the work’s not done yet.”