This Striking Photo of Team USA Surfer Caroline Marks on the Waves Proves Her Dominance Ahead of Olympic Semifinals

The 22-year-old is the last American standing in the Paris surfing competition.
Caroline Marks
Caroline Marks / Thiago Diz/Getty Images

The semifinals of the Paris Olympics surfing competition is set for tomorrow, and Caroline Marks is the last American standing.

For the 22-year-old professional surfer, the Olympics aren’t uncharted territory. She made her debut at the 2020 Tokyo games, where she finished in fourth place and narrowly missed the podium. This time around, on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, she’s looking for a little bit of redemption.

If her past year is any indication, Marks was in good position to make a run. The Florida native was the 2023 WSL Women’s World Tour Champion and heading into the Summer Games, she had one win (and several other top finishes) on the 2024 season.

Now, heading into the semifinals on Aug. 3, the athlete is looking confident. On the first day of Olympic competition, Marks recorded the highest composite score on the women’s side and the top wave score on the day. In Rounds 3 and 4 on Aug. 1, she continued her bid for Olympic gold with wins in two head-to-head competitions.

The semifinals are set for tomorrow, and Marks seems ready to go. If her scores weren’t indication enough, though, the following photo of the American surfer will go a long way in proving her dominance on the waves.

Needless to say, Marks is making the most of her second Olympic appearance. Tomorrow, she will take on French surfer Johanne Defay at 2:12 p.m. EST—and we’ll be here cheering her on.


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Martha Zaytoun

MARTHA ZAYTOUN

Martha Zaytoun is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2023, she worked on the editorial board of the University of Notre Dame’s student magazine and on the editorial team at Chapel Hill, Durham and Chatham Magazines in North Carolina. When not working, Zaytoun loves to watercolor and oil paint, run and water ski. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a huge Fighting Irish fan.