MADRID, 6 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
American surfer Caroline Marks was crowned Olympic surfing champion at the Paris 2024 Games, defeating Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb in the final of the discipline on Teahupo’o beach in Tahiti (French Polynesia), while in the men’s category, Tahiti-born Frenchman Kauli Vaast took gold, beating Australian Jack Robinson with authority.
Marks won the gold medal in a very close final. His best wave was the first, with a score of 7.50, a score that he could not improve on his second attempt, in which he added 3 more points, so his final was an overall record of 10.50. Only 17 hundredths better than Weston-Webb, with two waves of 5.83 and 4.50 that earned him Olympic silver.
“I feel very honoured and happy, this is incredible and I’m very excited. I’m very happy to do this for my family and for everyone back home. I’m very happy,” said Marks at the end of the competition, after France’s Johanne Defay won bronze by beating Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy.
Defay’s was the first medal for France in surfing, as he was followed by the gold medal of Kauli Vaast, who made his status as favourite in the waters of Teahupo’o count, clearly beating Australian Jack Robinson. The French surfer and local from Tahiti posted a score of 17.67 (9.50 and 8.17), compared to the meager 7.83 – he was unable to execute a good second tube for a second attempt – of his rival.
“That was my goal when I came here, to get a medal. In Tokyo I was very close and this year I had another chance and I really wanted it, so I gave it my all in the semi-final. I’m very happy with it. I’m happy to make my family, my friends and my whole country proud,” said the Olympic champion. The bronze went to Brazilian Gabriel Medina with a score of 15.54 over Peruvian Alonso Correa.