Olympic Surfing 2024: Gabriel Medina Gets Bronze; Medal Winners, Scores and Results

Kauli Vaast of France and Caroline Marks of the United States are the second-ever surfing gold medalists after winning in Tahiti on Monday.

Marks defeated Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil 10.50 to 10.33 in the women’s gold-medal match while Vaast beat Australia’s Jack Robinson 17.67 to 7.83 in their gold-medal meeting.

Gabriel Medina of Brazil came into the event as a favorite, but the waves didn’t go his way and he was only able to put up one best wave score. Still, he found his way to the bronze-medal matchup, where he beat Peru’s Alonso Correa.

Women’s Surfing Results

Gold: Caroline Marks (United States) def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil) 10.50 to 10.33

Bronze: Johanne Defay (France) def. Brisa Hennessy (Costa Rica), 12.66 to 4.93

Men’s Surfing Results

Gold: Kauli Vast (France) def. Jack Robinson (Australia), 17.67 to 7.83

Bronze: Gabriel Medina (Brazil) def. Alonso Correa (Peru), 15.54 to 12.43

Though conditions were subpar through the semifinals and bronze-medal matches, the surf turned out to be somewhat favorable for the gold-medal matches.

That led to a big start for Vaast.

The Frenchman came out with a bang, scoring an 8.17 for his first wave before driving through a barrel to score a 9.50 to give him a score of 17.67 after just two waves. Needless to say, that made things comfortable for Vaast and put pressure on Robinson.

Robinson recorded a 7.83 with his first wave, which is a commendable score, but not quite what he needed to be on par with Vaast.

But the surf didn’t cooperate with Robinson, and his first wave ended up being his only as time ticked away. Even if he had the chance to surf a few more waves, it’s hard to imagine he could have matched or bested Vaast’s score.

Vaast, 22, won his first Olympic medal with his performance on Monday, and it only makes it more special that he was able to do it in his native Tahiti.

In the women’s gold-medal match, things began very slow with neither surfer being able to find a wave they liked through the first 15 minutes or so.

A slow start quickly picked up in the final minutes of the match as favorable waves started coming for both Marks and Weston-Webb. The slew of waves led to the contest coming down to the final minutes.

Weston-Webb had an impressive run with around two minutes remaining and the judges had to make their scoring decisions as time ran out. With no time remaining, Marks could only wait to see if her score was enough, and it was as Weston-Webb scored a 4.50, leaving her just shy of the win.

Marks’ best wave was a 7.50 and her second-best was a 3.00, while Weston-Webb’s best was 5.83 with her second-best being a 4.50.

Marks fell just short of medaling in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, placing fourth overall. Now, three years, later she has her first medal, and it’s gold.