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.

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.”

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.

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)