Reigning world champion Caroline Marks surfed to a gold medal Monday in waters off the coast of Teahupo'o, Tahiti, triumphing over Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb following days of weather delays.
The 2024 Olympics are the 22-year-old Marks' second, having previously competed in Tokyo, where she finished off the podium. This is her first medal.
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Weston-Webb will go home with a silver medal, and France's Johanne Defay the bronze.
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Marks, who hails from Melbourne Beach, Florida and now lives in San Clemente, California, shared her excitement before the final round, already knowing she'd be going home with a medal -- the only question remaining what color.
"I’m so happy. It feels so good … I was really emotional about not medalling in Tokyo, so I’m going to stop talking now because I’ll get emotional now that I know I’m going to get one," Marks said to Olympics. com after advancing to the gold medal final. "I sliced my foot a few times on the reef, so I’m glad it worked out. I’m just so happy. Best feeling ever — such a big heat. I’ve had some big moments in my career and that win felt pretty big. Stoked I got the score."
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Marks won with a score of 10.50. Weston-Webb placed second with a 10.33 and Defay third with a 12.66.
Where was Olympic surfing held?
The surfing competitions were held thousands of miles away from Paris in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, which is a semi-autonomous territory of France.
How does scoring work in Olympic surfing?
Surfing features a panel of five judges who score an athlete's wave ride on a scale from 1-10 in 0.01 increments. For each wave ride, the highest and lowest scores are thrown out. The average of the three remaining scores gives an athlete their total for that single ride.
A surfer's two best rides are then added together to reach a final score.
