Caroline Marks wins Tahiti Pro by wide margin; Kelly Slater bounced from competition
Kelly Slater straddled his surfboard Tuesday afternoon in the southern Pacific waters of Tahiti, his head slumped in disbelief. Maybe reality quickly was settling in.
Dreams of a 2024 Olympic appearance had all but seemingly vanished for the 51-year-old, 11-time world champion from Cocoa Beach when Brazilian Yago Dora, 27, shot out of one of the trademark tubes Teahupoʻo is known for and collected decisive 8.0 scores from all five judges in the closing seconds to win their elimination heat 14.50-14.26 in the Tahiti Pro. Dora needed a 7.66 score.
It was the first time in more than 30 years that Slater went through a regular season on the World Championship Tour without reaching a quarterfinal. He needed to advance to the semifinals in this event to qualify for Team USA, but still has one possible shot to get in.
Meanwhile, former Melbourne Beach resident Caroline Marks will be back at the Olympics, on these same waves, when the French Polynesian island hosts the surfing portion of the Paris Games between July 27-30. She placed fourth at the inaugural Games in Japan in 2021.
Marks, 21, won the Tahiti Pro on Wednesday, defeating Caitlin Simmers 9.23-3.94 as conditions deteriorated.
"I'm stoked," she said. "The waves got a little tricky; we had a front coming through (the back)."
Marks thought it was great to have two California surfers in the final.
"It's super cool, awesome ... she's had such a stellar year, that rookie energy she brings ... I'm sure we'll have plenty more heats together," said Marks, who is 3-1 against Simmers, a 17-year-old phenom who, two years ago, surfed in the Beach 'n Boards Fest in Cocoa Beach.
Marks also has qualified third for the Rip Curl WSL Final 5 event, in which a world champion will be crowned through a one-day stepladder format anytime between Sept. 8-16 at Lower Trestles, near Marks' home in San Clemente, Calif. Simmers qualified fifth.
Earlier in the day, Marks had erased eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and two-time champion Tyler Wright.
The U.S. Olympic surfing team is now nearly set with defending gold medalist Carissa Moore, Marks and Simmers making the women's team, while Griffin Colapinto and John John Florence have qualified for the men's team. There's still room for one more U.S. surfer.
Here's what possibly could happen:
In addition to the top 10 men and top eight women on the WCT qualifying for the 48 Olympic international spots (24 men, 24 women), one loophole could help Slater:
“The National Olympic Committee (NOC) with the highest ranked team for Men at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games (WSG) will obtain one quota place. In case the allocation goes to an NOC that has already qualified two athletes, such NOC would be allowed to enter in the Paris 2024 Surfing competition a third athlete.”
So, if the U.S. men emerge as the highest-ranked team at next year's World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, it would open a third slot. But, who will represent the U.S. in that event remains to be seen, and if the team is successful, would the Olympic spot go to either Barron Mamiya, Ian Gentil or Seth Moniz, a trio of Hawaiians who are ranked higher than Slater (still 23rd) on the world circuit?
Slater knew how important the Tahiti event was, which basically was an audition in front of Olympic officials. He reportedly had stayed at J-bay in South Africa, tirelessly working on his game plan, and shuffled over to Skeleton Bay in Namibia for more challenging waves.
He was making his 19th start in Tahiti, and the heat against Dora was his 84th at a site where he has earned five of his 56 career victories.
Earlier Tuesday, Slater held off Ryan Callinan 14.27-12.50 and then seemed to be having fun against Dora, showing up just 90 seconds before the heat and grabbing 11 waves. His high scores of 7.33 and 6.93 built what appeared to be a commanding lead, forcing Dora to need a single score of 8.56 at the 10-minute mark.
But, Dora methodically closed the gap by about a point, leading to the type of late magic that once was reserved for Slater.
Apparently, Houdini has left the building.
Slater, who last won a contest a year ago in January at the famed Pipeline Masters, hasn't been able to conquer several of his younger opponents although, at times, he's shown flashes of the "old Kelly." But, he failed to make the tour's relatively new mid-season cut, yet was granted a full wildcard slot all the way through the first half of the 2024 season.
Earlier in the year, Slater offered that he would gladly retire after the Olympics, if he had gotten in.
“The next (Olympics) I’ll be 55 years old. I’m not going to be on tour by then,” he said in February. “I did say that at 40, though, when I was talking about being 50.”
Australian Jack Robinson rallied for a 15.66-15.00 win (with a pair of 7.83 scores) against Brazil's Gabriel Medina in the men's Tahiti Pro final to clinch the last Final 5 berth. Robinson, who will be a father in December, also won the season-opening Pipe Masters. The WSL Final 5 lineup is set: Men: 1. Felipe Toledo, 2. Griffin Colapinto, 3. Ethan Ewing, 4. Joao Chianca, 5. Jack Robinson Women: 1. Carissa Moore, 2. Tyler Wright, 3. Caroline Marks, 4. Molly Picklum, 5. Caitlin Simmers
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Caroline Marks victorious at Tahiti Pro while Kelly Slater falls short
