Carissa Moore, who took gold in surfing’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, qualified to defend that title in Paris next year.
Moore clinched her second Olympic berth via this season’s World Surf League standings. She was ranked No. 1 going into the last two contests.
Moore, a 30-year-old Hawaiian, has three contest victories this season, one year after being upset by Australian Stephanie Gilmore at the World Surf League Finals.
Gilmore, 35 and a record eight-time world champion, could miss the Olympics.
A nation can qualify no more than two surfers per gender via WSL standings, and she’s currently third among Australians. However, Australia could get a third spot if it wins next year’s World Surfing Games team event.
The entire three-woman U.S. team was decided on Friday, the opening day of a contest in Tahiti, which will also host the 2024 Olympic surfing competition.
Moore is joined on the Olympic team by Caroline Marks, who was fourth in Tokyo, and 17-year-old Caity Simmers.
Marks is having a bounce-back year after missing half of last season for health reasons. She’s ranked third in the world behind Moore and Australian Tyler Wright.
Simmers is ranked fifth overall in her rookie year on tour.
Marks and Simmers beat out Lakey Peterson for the last two Olympic spots.
Peterson missed the Olympic team by one spot for a second consecutive Games.
On the men’s side, two-time world champion John John Florence joined the previously qualified Griffin Colapinto on the U.S. Olympic team.
Colapinto, set to make his Olympic debut, is the highest-ranked American man this season (third in the world), followed by Florence (seventh in the world), who was ninth at the Tokyo Games.
No other Americans are in the world’s top 13.
The U.S. will get a third Olympic men’s spot if it wins the 2024 World Surfing Games team event.
Kelly Slater, the 51-year-old, record 11-time world champion, must reach the semifinals in Tahiti to keep his Olympic hopes alive for that possible third spot. Slater’s best finish in eight contests this season is ninth place.
Italo Ferreira, the Brazilian who won the Tokyo Olympic title, could miss the Paris Games. He is ranked 12th in the world this season, and fifth among Brazilians, but is done for the season due to a right knee injury.
