Kaua‘i’s Weston-Webb captures Silver Medal in 2024 women’s Olympic surfing

Kaua‘i’s Tatiana Weston-Webb falls short in the women’s Olympic surfing event capturing the Silver Medal behind Caroline Marks, of the United States, who took home the Gold.

“I’m so honored and so happy, this is just incredible and I’m so emotional.” Marks said on the beach in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. “So happy to do this for my family and everyone back home. Wow, I’m just so happy.”

According to the Olympic live blog, the competition came down to the final minute where the heat-deciding score dropped only after the final horn sounded.

The heat started slow with both Marks and Weston-Webb, representing her birth country Brazil, as they waited patiently for Mother Nature to send a good wave their way. After both failing to get a wave above a 1.0 for nearly 10 minutes, Marks made the drop on a solid set wave, faded her bottom turn a bit, and pulled up and into a round, pristine barrel.

“It wasn’t the deepest of the day or the longest but it was clean, beautiful even, and she came out flawlessly,” the blog stated.

Marks got a 7.50 for it and, like the Men’s Final earlier, the first good wave ridden also proved to be the Gold Medal winner.

Weston-Webb answered with a tube of her own, albeit on a smaller wave, and rode it straight into a couple of strong rail turns. The result was a 5.83.

The plot thickened as Marks failed to find a big second score. A short little tube ride and hooking top turn got her a 3.00, a number which would eventually become her second-best score for a heat total of 10.50. She was close to coming out of another big barrel but the lip clipped her as she high-lined it towards the exit.

The wipeout left the door open for Weston-Webb in the final 90 seconds.

A small wave presented itself and Weston-Webb took off needing only a 4.68 to win Gold. She used her rail game to tear the wave up, gouging multiple turns just before time expired. After a few minutes of uncertainty, the judges’ scores came in at 4.50. Just shy of a Gold Medal performance.