Article by Hillard Grossman

Not much can overshadow Caroline Marks’ 2023 World Surf League championship title or her 2024 Olympic gold medal.

But, in a span of eight days, the former Melbourne Beach resident not only was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, Calif., but a week later she beat the odds by reaching the semifinals of the Lexus Tahiti Pro, and qualified for her third straight WSL Final 5 playoffs, this time at Cloudbreak in Fiji on Aug. 27-Sept. 4.

Marks’ “forever” handprints and footprints, in cement on the Surfing Walk of Fame along Main Street, join the likes of Cocoa Beach’s Kelly Slater (2002) and Satellite Beach’s CJ Hobgood (2016) as honorees of the coveted award.

“Winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the greatest moments of my life, but this — being recognized by people who live and breathe this sport — means the world to me,” Marks said in her acceptance speech.

“To be recognized among so many amazing surfers who I have looked up to my entire life is incredibly humbling.”

To honor Marks, her main sponsor, Red Bull, posted a historic look at Marks’ career on its Instagram page.

 

 

 

On Friday in Tahiti, where she had claimed the Olympic gold medal last year, Marks moved up from sixth to fourth in the final regular-season rankings, winning a critical battle with California’s Lakey Peterson 8.67-8.50 in the spectacular 6-foot “supertubes” before knocking off Hawaii’s Bettylou Sakura Johnson 13.00-9.93 in a relatively no-pressure situation to secure the No. 4 position.

That win gives her wave priority in the Final 5 opener against No. 5 Johnson.

 

 

 

Remarkably, at age 23, Marks will be the oldest of the five finalists: No. 1 Molly Picklum (who defeated Marks in the Tahiti semifinals 9.73-9.33) is 22; Gabriela Bryan is also 23, but nearly two months younger; Caitlin Simmers is 19; and Johnson is 20. Simmers, ranked third, faces Picklum in the Tahiti final sometime this upcoming week.

“Fiji is just such a great place, and Cloudbreak is one of the best waves in the world,” Marks said. “So that adds so much motivation when the Finals are at such a good wave, so we’re psyched for sure.”

Earlier in the competition, 12-year-old Tahiti Trials Winner Kelia Gallina made history by becoming the youngest-ever competitor in a WSL CT event, although she lost out in both heats in the challenging waves.