Growing up in Melbourne Beach, Florida, a young Caroline Marks watched Carissa Moore on her TV screen and was mesmerized by her surfing prowess. This summer, she took on her lifetime idol at the 2024 Olympic Games, with Marks eliminating Moore in the quarterfinals. As Moore steps away from the sport she brought so much VISibility to, it was time for Marks to shine. And she did just that by winning the second-ever gold medal for women’s shortboard surfing at the Olympic Games. Here’s how Marks surfed her way to the top of the podium.
Waving from One Generation to the Next
Before the games began, Marks told The Athletic, “When you’re on the wave, you’re very free. It’s an open canvas.” And perhaps there couldn’t be a metaphor more emblematic of the journey that the 2023 WSL World Champion and seven-time WSL Championship Tour event winner has taken to get the gold.
Marks doesn’t back down from a challenge, but embraces it. When asked about going up against Moore, Marks paused and held space for both parts of herself: The insatiably competitive part shaped by her two older brothers and Moore, and the little girl within her staring at that TV screen. “[Moore] pushed the progression of women’s surfing and she’s had such a stellar year and she’s been dominant for so many years,” Marks said in an interview with People. And yet, Marks still wants “to beat the best to be the best,” which is exactly what happened in Tahiti where the surfing events took place.
Marks’ Battle with Mental Health
But Marks had to embark on a battle against her own mental health to find that ambition within herself. In September of 2023, Marks opened up about these struggles in an interview with the Guardian. “There were moments when I doubted myself and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to find that happiness again in my surfing and in myself,” Marks said. “When you become super good and super successful at a young age and the expectations are very high, it feels like if you don’t live up to that expectation, anything less than that is a failure in a way.” As a self-described “people pleaser,” Marks felt like she was “letting people down.”
“What’s one year when you have your whole life ahead of you? You’re nothing without your health.”
Marks eventually “got to a place where [she] just wasn’t really having that much fun anymore.” To release the pressure that Marks had put on herself, she made the brave decision to step away from surfing for a year. Taking some time off helped her realize why she got into the sport in the first place. “I genuinely love surfing so much and it just brings me so much joy and I think that’s part of the reason why I got so good,” Marks said.
She added that part of the reason why she found the courage to push herself back up onto her surfboard was because of how her parents positively encouraged her to pursue her dreams. “I think just always having that was really special because surfing was always fun,” Marks said. “It never felt like a job or anything, and I’m really, really grateful for that.”
Marks’ Golden Piece of Advice
Now that she’s back surfing at the highest level, Marks reminds herself and everyone watching that “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” so that she can continue surfing “for as long as possible.” Because, in Marks’ words, “What’s one year when you have your whole life ahead of you? You’re nothing without your health.”
It took Marks a year of space away from surfing to find herself again and ultimately beat her idol to grab the gold. With an inspiring story that encompasses the weight of expectations that young athletes face and the courage to make mental health a priority, Marks has shown us how the water is her canvas.
