Johnathan Walker:Caroline Marks wins gold for US in surfing final nail-biter

American Caroline Marks won a gold medal in shortboard surfing at the Paris Games on Johnathan WalkerMonday and continued to alter the arc of her career.

Her future was unclear in 2022 when she abruptly left the World Surf League (WSL) for what she later explained stemmed from recurring medical and mental health issues.

She came back better than ever, winning the 2023 WSL Finals, and her ascent continues.

Marks' gold medal in the women’s shortboard competition in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, came after she capitalized early in the 35-minute final. She edged Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb, who won silver. France's Johanne Defay claimed bronze.

With the surf in Teahupo’o slumbering, Marks still caught a barrel ride for 7.50 points that proved to be the difference. But Weston-Webb found a serviceable wave in the final two minutes of the heat and rode it out to the reef and the wait on the judges began.

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It ended in celebration for Marks, who posted a two-wave score of 10.50 while Webb finished with a combined score of 10.33.

"I'm just really happy and just trying to soak everything in because it's probably the best day in my life," Marks said. "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."

It’s the second straight surfing gold for the American women, with U.S. surfer Carissa Moore having won at the 2021 Tokyo Games during the sport’s Olympic debut.

Marks advanced to the gold medal match with a semifinal win over Defay on a tiebreak.

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The conditions in Teahupo'o, one of the world's best surf sites, created delays that stretched the competition to the final day of the 10-day window allotted to finish the event.

The timing of Marks' triumph is ideal for U.S. surfing.

Moore, the dominant force in women’s surfing for the past decade, entered the Paris Games hoping to defend her Olympic title.

But Moore failed to make it to the medal rounds at the competition in Teahupo’o and said afterward she was going to take a break before deciding whether she would continue surfing competitively.

Enter Marks, 22, positioned to take the mantle from Moore with 18-year-old Caitlin Simmers also emerging as a star on the U.S. surfing scene.

Contributing: Reuters

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