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

Advertisement

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.

The 2023 World Champion 🇺🇸 #CarolineMarks

Replay the #RipCurlWSLFinals now on https://t.co/ie0ZfMWjFw.@ripcurl pic.twitter.com/a4apPdBSey

Advertisement

— 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)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said his celebration inspired by Donald Trump after getting a hit Sunday was not intended to be a presidential endorsement. 

After hitting a double against the New York Yankees, Walls looked toward his dugout and pumped his fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Walls was mimicking Trump’s gesture after being hit in the ear by a bullet during an assassination attempt July 13 during a Pennsylvania rally. 

Walls said he’s unlikely to do the celebration again after a hit. 

However, Walls discussed how inspiring Trump’s reaction was after the assassination attempt while speaking before the Rays’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday. 

“I think it’s pretty inspirational when any person, in the blink of an eye, their life could be taken from them,” Walls said. “They don’t really know what’s going on in the heat of the moment.

RAYS’ TAYLOR WALLS PERFORMS TRUMP-INSPIRED CELEBRATION AFTER DOUBLE VS. YANKEES

“To immediately stand up and show strength, to me, speaks pretty loudly. Anyone in that situation or that type of event, when it happens, it’s strong. It kind of represents character to me and something that similarly I feel like I’ve faced those challenges in baseball, but on a much suppressed level.”

As for why Walls won’t be making the gesture again after a hit, he said it was “kind of more of a joke that we have with guys in the locker room.”

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls reacts after turning a double play during the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium July 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“Joke may not be the right word,” he clarified. “It was kind of just something that we had together that we thought was kind of funny, that we thought would be all right. I don’t really see that going much further than that. I don’t foresee myself doing it again.”

Walls didn’t say who he was voting for in this year’s presidential election but did reference Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race while speaking about it. 

“You can read between the lines of how I carry myself, how I was raised, how me and my family coordinate, how we’re going to go about things and do things,” Walls explained. “That’s kind of what I base my vote on and my view on.”

Walls, who grew up in Georgia, played his college baseball at Florida State University before becoming a third-round pick by the Rays in the 2017 MLB Draft. 

Taylor Walls of the Tampa Bay Rays takes a lead off first base against the Chicago Cubs during a game at Tropicana Field June 12, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Walls is known for his stellar defensive skills rather than his bat. He was slashing .160/.286/.210 entering play on Tuesday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

With a week to go until the MLB trade deadline, we asked our writers to make a prediction about every team in the league. Some were bolder than others.

Prediction: Diamondbacks are buyers, but trade Eugenio Suárez.

The Diamondbacks made a push in the offseason to improve on the World Series roster of 2023. It hasn’t gone according to plan, but they came out of the break just one game out of the wild card. The Eugenio Suárez acquisition hasn’t worked out, and while the D-Backs should be buyers, Suárez might not be in the plans. Arizona should still look for pitching help and make a push for the postseason. — Sam Blum

Prediction: The Braves won’t make bold enough moves to satisfy most of their fans.

Alex Anthopoulos has been bold before some past deadlines. For example, he traded for four outfielders in July 2021 and watched each become a major factor for the eventual World Series champions. But the Braves’ deficit in the standings (8 1/2 games entering Monday) and the team they are chasing (the Phillies) make it unlikely that the Braves win the NL East. With Michael Harris II and Max Fried expected back in August and Ozzie Albies in September, the Braves might aim more for being healthy in the postseason. — David O’Brien

Prediction: The Orioles will get the biggest reliever that moves.

If the A’s hold onto closer Mason Miller, the O’s will simply move down the list to Tanner Scott or Paul Sewald or Pete Fairbanks — whoever is legitimately available and will most significantly impact their bullpen. It would be far bolder to say they’ll get the best pitcher, period, who moves. And with the Orioles farm system, that’s certainly possible. — Chad Jennings

Prediction: The Red Sox will trade for a starting pitcher.

The Red Sox don’t currently have a set fifth starter and have been relying heavily on Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, who are at or close to career highs in innings pitched. Nick Pivetta has been good more often than not, but Brayan Bello is having a tough year. If the Red Sox want to contend they need pitching. Craig Breslow knows that and seems willing to add. — Jen McCaffrey

Prediction: The Cubs will mostly stand pat.

There is no motivation to sink more resources into this underperforming team. The roster, however, is not designed to sell, and there is an expectation to compete in 2025. The Cubs will use August and September for player development and will try to sell the idea of “just wait until next offseason” for the really big moves. — Patrick Mooney

Prediction: The White Sox are trading Garrett Crochet to the Dodgers.

Naming the destination may be a little too bold, but the White Sox will sell high on Crochet, because you never know with hard-throwing pitchers. The Dodgers have a need, they’re thirsty to win another title, and they’re always developing another wave. They’ll pay the necessary price. — Rustin Dodd

Prediction: The Reds do nothing of consequence.

The team’s fence straddling will continue beyond the July 30 trade deadline. Too close to be clear sellers and too far away to be clear buyers, the front office will say that they looked for deals that made long-term sense, but didn’t find any matches in trade negotiations. Frankie Montas is the team’s most obvious trade candidate, but the Reds won’t get any offers that make trying to make up for his absence in the rotation worth sending him elsewhere. — C. Trent Rosecrans

Prediction: The Guardians will make multiple trades.

It’s hard to forecast. Everything’s in flux. Conversations are fluid. But the Guardians are positioned to swing big — or, at least, to take a few smaller hacks. Like everyone, they desperately need rotation help. They could stand to land another bat. Another reliever never hurts. They’ve gotten this far despite their faults, have plenty of trade chips and the front office understands the difference some upgrades could make. — Zack Meisel

Prediction: Both of their catchers will get traded.

Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings have both had productive seasons, and are both pending free agents. Diaz has a .732 OPS and Stallings a .758 OPS. Neither are franchise-altering players. But they play a premium position and could be sneaky valuable to contending teams. It would free up a spot for prospect Drew Romo to come up for his MLB debut. — Sam Blum

Prediction: The Tigers won’t trade Tarik Skubal.

Despite all the chatter, this conversation isn’t all that complicated. It would take a massive haul for the Tigers to move their ace at this year’s deadline. The Orioles are perhaps the only team that can offer enough, and even then, would Mike Elias really be willing to part with Jackson Holliday? The odds of Skubal actually moving seem slim. — Cody Stavenhagen

Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal might be too costly to move. (David Reginek / USA Today)

Prediction: The Astros acquire a star first baseman.

Astros owner Jim Crane covets superstars. He has engineered two deadline trades for Justin Verlander and he gave the final push to acquire Zack Greinke in 2019. Houston does not have the prospect capital to pull off another blockbuster. With Crane involved, it sometimes doesn’t matter. The Astros should be prioritizing pitching, but if Crane wants Pete Alonso or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fix his mistake of signing José Abreu, general manager Dana Brown may have to make it happen. — Chandler Rome

Prediction: The Royals will acquire a bat like Tommy Pham — though importantly maybe not Tommy Pham himself.

The Royals already upgraded their bullpen by acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals in exchange for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and a competitive balance round pick. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them target another middle reliever type, but the more pressing need now exists in the lineup. Namely, the Royals need to lengthen it. The Royals’ farm system is thin at the upper levels, so someone with Pham’s price tag may fit best.  — Rustin Dodd

Prediction: The Angels don’t trade any players with multiple years of team control.

The Angels are in a perfect position for a full-scale sell-off. And they have some players that can net a return. But the front office and owner Arte Moreno will use the team’s recent strong play to justify holding onto arbitration-eligible players in the hopes of competing again next year. In some ways this is a bold prediction. In another way, it feels very predictable that the Angels will make this choice. — Sam Blum

Los Angeles Dodgers

Prediction: The Dodgers will supplement their starting pitching.

It certainly would have qualified as bold at the beginning of the season, but the Dodgers’ cluster of pitching injuries has made solidifying the group a must. The returns of Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw will help some, but there’s a reason the Dodgers are engaged on the likes of Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet. — Fabian Ardaya

Prediction: It’s last call as the Jazz club closes in Miami.

This prediction has become considerably less bold in recent weeks as rumors of trade talks have surfaced. But to think last fall that Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be traded less than a year after his second playoff run with the Marlins would have been surprising. The time is right for the Marlins. Chisholm isn’t matching his 2022 breakout but he’s playing well. There are a lot of contenders eager to have his skillset at center field and second base. — Stephen J. Nesbitt

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s time with the Marlins may be nearing its end. (Jim Rassol / USA Today)

Prediction: The Brewers will acquire Erick Fedde.

It’s no secret the Brewers need pitching, but it will be hard for them to outbid the Dodgers or Orioles for the services of Garrett Crochet. A better trade for them could mean acquiring Fedde, Crochet’s more overlooked teammate. Fedde has posted a 2.99 ERA and is under team control through next season. He could be a good fit on a Brewers team looking to deepen its rotation. — Cody Stavenhagen

Prediction: Minnesota will trade for one of the top rental starting pitchers.

Chris Paddack’s latest injured list stint should motivate the Twins to pursue rotation help, but they may not be as inclined to part with top prospects or increase the 2025 payroll. Instead, they’ll land one of the top rental starters — Nathan Eovaldi? Yusei Kikuchi? Jack Flaherty? Frankie Montas? — to provide insurance for Paddack and another viable option for a potential playoff rotation. — Aaron Gleeman

Prediction: The Mets trade someone off their major-league roster.

The Mets will buy at the deadline, but they won’t be afraid to move a piece or two off the big-league roster to either facilitate a win-now move or recoup some prospect value for the future. The starting rotation is the chief spot to look at here, with New York capable of withstanding a deal of a starter. — Tim Britton

Prediction: The Yankees will trade Nestor Cortes.

The Yankees made a similar move in 2022 when they traded Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for center fielder Harrison Bader. The thinking was Montgomery would not be a part of the Yankees’ playoff rotation, and general manager Brian Cashman wanted to shore up a critical spot defensively. Cortes comes with one more year of team control, and he still has value. They could use a new starting infielder or left fielder in exchange for Cortes. — Chris Kirschner

Prediction: The A’s won’t deal Mason Miller.

How do you price a dominant closer with a 101 mph fastball and a lethal slider, a guy with 5 1/2 years of team control? And what if Miller doesn’t remain a reliever forever? A starter with that sort of stuff who can’t become a free agent until November 2029 is worth a fortune. It might be more beneficial to survey the market in the winter, with more teams adamant about buying. — Zack Meisel

The Athletics might be better off exploring a Mason Miller deal in the offseason (Eakin Howard / Getty Images)

Philadelphia Phillies

Prediction: The Phillies acquire someone else’s closer but don’t use him as their closer.

For much of Rob Thomson’s tenure as Phillies manager, the club has not run a bullpen with traditional roles. They’re poking around on available relievers, and if they acquire one with closing experience, they will continue to operate without set roles. It’ll just give them another late-inning option. — Matt Gelb

Prediction: The Pirates will be active shoppers in a moderately priced store.

This is not a bold prediction. The Pirates are not going to swing big, and I refuse to pretend that they will! That doesn’t mean they’ll sit on their hands. Far from it. The Pirates might make more moves than any other team out there. They’ll be in the market for mid-market or rental center fielders, second basemen, catchers and relievers. Each trade won’t move the needle that much, but step back after a flurry of ‘em and you’ll see a significant improvement. — Stephen J. Nesbitt

Prediction: The Padres land Garrett Crochet, surrendering Leodalis De Vries in the process.

General manager A.J. Preller has been after Crochet for at least a couple of months, apparently undeterred by workload concerns surrounding the White Sox All-Star. With stiff competition from such teams as the Dodgers and Orioles, the Padres would need to fork over premium prospect capital. De Vries, a highly regarded teenage shortstop, can headline a requisite package. — Dennis Lin

Prediction: You’ll be underwhelmed if you want the Giants to buy, you’ll probably be underwhelmed if you want them to sell, so basically, just prepare to not be whelmed.

A year ago at the deadline, the Giants were 58-49 and leading the NL wild card standings — and their only acquisition was a broken-down A.J. Pollock. This season, while technically contending, they’ve spent just four days over .500. They’re also pot-committed after punting two draft picks and crossing the luxury tax transom to sign Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. Their best play is probably to let it ride and hope the return of Robbie Ray/Alex Cobb gives them a bigger roster boost than any of the NL wild card teams will receive at the deadline. — Andrew Baggarly

Prediction: Seattle will add a bat — possibly more than one.

The Mariners entered the second half in the lead in the American League West despite ranking 27th in baseball in runs and 28th in OPS. Jerry Dipoto will need to bring in some reinforcements if the team wants to hold off the Astros. Expect Dipoto to be aggressive in pursuing upgrades, especially in the outfield. — Andy McCullough

St. Louis Cardinals

Prediction: The Cardinals acquire a starting pitcher and reliever in the same trade.

The Cardinals and bold don’t usually mix at the deadline, so let’s keep that in mind here. Given the different areas they could use improvement on, however, a multi-player trade makes sense. St. Louis would benefit from adding both a starting pitcher and a right-handed reliever. Why not get both from the same place? The Rangers (should they decide to sell) seem like a solid fit, with players like Nathan Eovaldi, David Robertson and Kirby Yates theoretically in play. So do the White Sox, with Erick Fedde — who the Cardinals have been linked to — and old friend John Brebbia available. Plenty of options are out there, and who doesn’t like a one-stop shop? — Katie Woo

Erick Fedde pitches against the Cardinals. (Jeff Curry / USA Today)

Prediction: The Rays will trade someone you’ve heard of for someone you haven’t.

The Tampa Bay Rays do this all the time — they take a name-brand player, make him better, sell him off, whoever comes back turns out to be even better and they will ultimately be traded. Rinse and repeat. This is like predicting the sun will rise in the east, but I have seen no evidence yet that it will not. The Rays will likely move Amed Rosario, but could also trade the likes of Zach Eflin, Yandy Díaz or even Randy Arozarena. — C. Trent Rosecrans

Texas Rangers

Prediction: The Rangers won’t do much selling.

The first half has not gone according to plan, but the Rangers remain within shouting distance in the AL West. They may try to do a mix of buying and selling, but the chances of Chris Young and company jettisoning most of the team’s pitching at the deadline is unlikely. The Rangers still want to compete. — Cody Stavenhagen

Prediction: The Blue Jays trade starter Chris Bassitt.

Bassitt is having another strong season and with so many clubs in need of starting pitching, he could fetch the Blue Jays a decent return, especially since he’s controllable through 2025. The Blue Jays are set on competing again in 2025, so they don’t have to move Bassitt, but doing so now is a way to bolster a farm system that lacks upper-level depth, especially on the pitching side. — Kaitlyn McGrath

Washington Nationals

Prediction: If you aren’t part of the future, you might get dealt.

After flirting with contention early in the summer, the Nationals faded heading into the break, and are prepared to sell. General manager Mike Rizzo already did well in turning reliever Hunter Harvey into a competitive-balance pick. The team is expected to listen on plenty of pending free agents like Jesse Winker, Dylan Floro and, of course, Patrick Corbin. — Andy McCullough

(Top photo of Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes: Brad Penner / USA Today)