Sports
Caroline Marks, U.S. prodigy, has reached surfing's peak — is Olympic gold next?
Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
Peace.
That’s what Caroline Marks, the 22-year-old surfing sensation, feels on the waves.
No phone, no distractions. Just a deep connection between human and Mother Nature. Board and ocean.
Marks describes it as “painting a picture.”
“When you’re on the wave, you’re very free,” Marks said. “It’s an open canvas. There’s never the same wave, and it’s always exciting. It’s a sport you can never really master.”
This love affair with surfing guided Marks to the heights of the sport. Multiple national championships. The youngest surfer to qualify for the women’s championship tour. The youngest woman to compete at a World Surf League (WSL) event. The crowning achievement: WSL Women’s World Tour champion at 21.
Marks is on the U.S. Olympic surfing team for the 2024 Paris Games. Beginning July 27, she will surf far from the Eiffel Tower on the historic waves of Teahupo’o in Tahiti. In her second Olympic Games, Marks has her sights set on the podium after just falling short in Tokyo, losing in the bronze-medal match.
Spending as much time as possible at the End of the Road since its addition to the Women’s Tour, Caroline is a Teahupo’o veteran. In 2023, she secured her first win in Tahiti over fellow U.S. teammate Caity Simmers.
Marks carries on the decades-long tradition of Floridian… pic.twitter.com/6GghdKtI0F
— World Surf League (@wsl) July 16, 2024
Growing up in Melbourne Beach, Fla., the third of six children, Marks wanted to be like her brothers. Her introduction to sports was horseback riding and barrel racing. But if she wanted to impress her brothers, Marks needed to pursue a more adventurous sport.
Enter surfing. Her oldest brother, Luke, competed in junior and pro events. Marks got into the water at 7 years old. Across from where Marks lived in Melbourne Beach was a surf break where she first practiced surfing.
It wasn’t just a sport in which she could beat her brothers. Surfing became a viable career.
The Marks family moved to San Clemente, Calif., a hotspot for surfing. The move to the Golden Coast intertwined with Marks’ ascendence. At 11, Marks won the under-12 Surfing America Prime, the top amateur surf competition. By 15, Marks became the youngest to qualify for the WSL’s Championship Tour. Titles followed in 2019, where Marks captured two wins and finished the year second.
With meteoric success came massive expectations. There was no doubt Marks was a rising star in surfing. The question became, when was she going to win the top events? For surfers, that’s a world championship and the Olympics.
In December 2019, Marks finished second on the WSL championship tour to Carissa Moore, a five-time world champion and the inaugural Olympic gold medalist. This earned Marks a spot on the inaugural U.S. Olympic surfing team in Tokyo.
The first two rounds of the surfing competition are heats. The third round begins the head-to-head knockout competition with the round of 16. Then quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Marks advanced to the semifinals before losing to South African surfer Bianca Buitendag. In the bronze-medal matchup, Marks fell to Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki, losing by 2.54 points.
“That obviously sucked,” Marks said. “I was really bummed.”
Caroline Marks celebrates her 2023 WSL Finals title. Just 22 years old, the American star heads to the Olympic Games as a gold-medal contender. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Marks was oblivious to the pressure when she rose through the surfing ranks. Winning events so young, it was all happening so fast. She was never short on self-belief, but crossing that threshold to become a world champion isn’t easy.
In 2022, Marks missed half the surfing season to, she says, “deal with recurring medical and health issues.” She failed to qualify for the WSL finals.
Joy always accompanied Marks when she was surfing. But she admits now that she put too much pressure on herself, basing happiness on results.
“You live, breathe, eat surfing, it’s your priority over everything,” Marks said. “That’s how it should be if you want to win and accomplish things. You put in so much preparation, you don’t get the result you want and you can be really down on yourself.”
Marks leaned on her support system. Family and friends. She lived by the adage that “if you’re not winning, you’re learning.” The disappointment from Tokyo turned to gratitude. Grateful to be on the Olympic team, surfing alongside a role model in Moore and meeting athletes in the Olympic Village like American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall.
It propelled Marks to return to surfing as a more resilient athlete.
In her return to competition in June 2023, Marks captured the El Salvador Surf City Pro, a WSL event. She followed it up with a victory at the Tahiti Pro, on the same circuit as Paris 2024. It culminated last September at the Rip Curl WSL Finals in Lower Trestles, Calif., her home state.
Marks started the competition as the third seed. She defeated fourth-ranked Caitlin Simmers and second-ranked dual-world champion Tyler Wright en route to the final, setting up a rematch against Moore.
Marks had a large contingent of supporters along the beach. Friends from California, family from Florida, trainers and coaches. All to witness a potential coronation.
Marks didn’t disappoint. On the first heat, she showcased her backhand, carving skills (the 180-degree turn at the top of the wave) with force. The bottom turn, top turn highlighted Marks’ control of the wave. She scored an 8.67 (out of 10), forcing Moore to respond. Marks’ first heat total was 17.10 to Moore’s 14.97.
In the second heat, Marks’ maneuvers with the board earned her a 7.00 score. She followed it up with a 7.60, sealing the world title.
The 2023 World Champion 🇺🇸 #CarolineMarks
Replay the #RipCurlWSLFinals now on https://t.co/ie0ZfMWjFw.@ripcurl pic.twitter.com/a4apPdBSey
— World Surf League (@wsl) September 13, 2023
As her fans lifted Marks on the beach in celebration, she felt a “monkey was lifted of her back.” But the true joy was celebrating with the people who got her to this crowning achievement.
“All these people have made a sacrifice for me to get me to where I need to be to accomplish my goal, and so I feel like it was just the best way to pay them back,” Marks said.
It’s two weeks until the Olympics, and Marks is putting the finishing touches on preparation. She arrives in Tahiti 10 days before the Olympic surfing competition begins. A chance to get acclimated to the Tahiti waves, focus on rest and recovery while cherishing the time spent with her parents, two younger siblings and other family members.
Marks won’t be with her U.S. compatriots during the opening ceremony. She’ll be on an island almost 10,000 miles away. Aiming to bring back hardware for the closing ceremony.
Marks admits she’s a changed athlete and person from three years ago. But once she’s on the board, she’s free.
No phone. No distractions. Just a surfer trying to conquer the waves.
(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos: Ed Sloane, Thiago Diz / World Surf League via Getty Images)
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.
They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.
And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.
Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.
James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.
He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.
James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.
That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.
They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.
The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.
They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,
The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.
They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.
Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.
The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four for 14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.
The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.
“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.
“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”
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In 2025, Alex Palou kicked off the Month of May with a Sonsio Grand Prix win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Based on the odds, it’s likely that Palou will find himself in Winner’s Circle again this Saturday when INDYCAR goes back to IMS on May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Considering Palou has already captured the checkered flag three times this season, are there any other drivers whose odds are worth a wager?
Here are the latest lines at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 9.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sonsio Grand Prix 2026
Àlex Palou: 5/18 (bet $10 to win $12.78 total)
Kyle Kirkwood: 5/1 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Pato O’Ward: 12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
David Malukas: 14/1 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Josef Newgarden: 16/1 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Scott McLaughlin: 20/1 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian Lundgaard: 30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Scott Dixon: 40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Will Power: 60/1 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Felix Rosenqvist: 80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alexander Rossi: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Ericsson: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Armstrong: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Christian Rasmussen: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Graham Rahal: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Louis Foster: 300/1 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Dennis Hauger: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Romain Grosjean: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Santino Ferrucci: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Rinus Veekay: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Kyffin Simpson: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Caio Collet: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Sting Ray Robb: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Nolan Siegel: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Mick Schumacher: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
Heavy Favorite: It doesn’t look like Alex Palou’s dominance will be slowing down anytime soon. As noted above, he’s already won three of the five races since the INDYCAR season started in March. With 186 laps led, Palou sits first in the standings and has the shortest odds to win the title again. Last season, he started from the pole and led 29 laps before winning the race.
Long Shot to Watch: While his odds of 150/1 to win at IMS are much longer than Palou’s, Graham Rahal is one to watch. At this race in 2025, he started second and led 49 laps before finishing sixth. He finished second at this course in 2015, 2020 and 2023. He’s currently 10th in the INDYCAR standings, with one top five and three top 10s.
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