Caroline Marks Says This World Champion Athlete Is the Most Famous Contact in Her Cell Phone

The Olympic gold medalist talked social media habits and more while on the SI Swimsuit set in Florida.

Caroline Marks / Sports Illustrated Swimsuit

Professional surfer Caroline Marks first posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue in 2020, when she traveled to Turks and Caicos. The 23-year-old Olympic gold medalist returned to the fold for this year’s magazine, and traveled to The Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Fla., where she was photographed by Ben Horton.

While on set in the Sunshine State, Marks sat down with our camera crew to provide a tour of her cell phone, and shared everything from her screen time (she averages 4 hours and 26 minutes daily) to her most-used emojis (including the laughing face, heart and snowman, the latter of which is an inside joke with her friends).

The athlete also talked about her social media usage, and it turns she scrolls her feed just as much as the rest of us.

“When I’m competing, I check my social media a lot less,” Marks admitted of her social media habits. “But when I’m not competing or like, surfing that much during the day, I’d say I check it a lot.”

And when it comes to the most famous person in her contact list, Marks name-dropped Kelly Slater, an 11-time World Surf League champion who is known for being the greatest surfer of all time.

“He was texting me throughout the whole Olympics like every single day, which was really cool,” Marks told SI Swimsuit. “ ... I mean, he’s the greatest of all time. That’s pretty gangster to have in your contacts.”

Marks is a two-time Olympian who first competed in Tokyo in 2020, where she narrowly missed a podium finish. Last summer, during the Paris Olympics, the Florida native took home the gold medal in women’s surfing. The athlete also won the title of World Surf League champion in 2023.

Meanwhile, Slater holds the record for most WSL Championship tour wins with 56 and has 11 world titles to his name.

Check out Mark’s complete 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue gallery here.

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