Caroline Marks

A multiple national champion and the youngest female to compete in a World Surf League event, America's Caroline Marks is surfing's young phenom. Forget peer pressure, Caroline Marks's three older brothers provided all the necessary incentive she needed to ascend to the top ranks in surfing. Despite opting for equestrian competition at a young age, by the age of seven the surfing sibling rivalry won out. And with a surf break across from the family home in Melbourne Beach, Florida, she had the perfect training facility in her own front yard. Marks's effort to outperform her brothers elevated her skill set quickly. When the family moved to California, the level of competition also forced her to step up her game. At the age of 11 she won the Under-12 Surfing America Prime - the US top amateur title - and never looked back. Since then she has won 17 titles, including the 2016 ISA Under-16 Championship, the 2015 and 2016 Vans U.S. Open Pro Junior Championships and consecutive National Scholastic Surfing Association titles in 2014-2015. But her meteoric rise through the professional ranks, from turning pro aged just 13 to qualifying for the US surf team, is just the beginning for the goofy-footer. Having secured second-place overall on the WSL Championship tour in 2019 and first at Super Girl Pro in 2020, Marks looks set to continue her ascent to the top of the surfing world.