The champ is back. And she looks ready. Photo: Red Bull
Carissa Moore is one of the most decorated female surfers of all time. She’s a five-time world champion and America’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in surfing. Thanks to her pension for power surfing, and a kind and generous soul, “Riss” is without question, a fan favorite.
After multiple dominant seasons, Moore made a surprise announcement in January of 2024 that she was stepping away from the Championship Tour. Fans were shocked and began speculating on her reason for taking time off, seemingly at the height of her competitive career. In August of 2024, Moore announced that she was pregnant with her first child but made no claims on whether she planned to return to competition.
On February 24, 2025, Moore announced the birth of her daughter, ‘Olena Lililehua Untermann. After two months off, Moore slowly began surfing and training, and in November of 2025, she announced that she would be returning for the 2026 season, much to the approval of Championship Tour fans. I spoke with Moore about why she decided to return, what her training looks like these days, and how she plans to navigate nine months of travel with a one-year-old in tow.
How has this past year of motherhood been?
It’s been so special. I feel really fortunate to have had the luxury to stay home and be with her, enjoy her, and watch her grow. Obviously, you don’t get that much sleep, and you’re exhausted and tested by the situation, but overall, I’ve just been stoked on her. She’s a really good kid and it’s been a great time for me and my husband to grow closer. It’s been humbling, but overall, super joyful.
How long were you off surfing in total?
I was out of surfing for two months. The pregnancy and postpartum was the most I ever took a step back from surfing. It started as a gradual thing, not surfing at that intense level, and then I slowly started surfing only a couple of days a week. I surfed up until a week before I gave birth, but it took me a minute to heal and find my strength again.
What was your recovery process like?
When I was pregnant, I still kept up with all my workouts. Pilates was great, I did that all throughout my pregnancy and postpartum, and I still do it. I still worked out with my trainer – we did strength throughout my pregnancy as well. I also did pelvic floor therapy, which really helped.
Right after birth, I gave myself six weeks. The first week after I gave birth, I stayed upstairs that whole week. The next week, I went downstairs, and the week after that, I went to the mailbox. There was no manual on how to do it, especially as a serious athlete who wants to get back to being a serious athlete, so I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to skip any steps and get injured, so it took a long time. It feels good to be on the other side.
How does your training look different than in past years?
It’s looked super different. At first, it was very challenging for me to accept that I’m not the same athlete and person that I used to be. My time is limited, so I have to be efficient with my workouts. I can’t train for as long as I want anymore, and I have to find someone to help. I can’t do all the training trips, so I’m trying to find confidence in relying on my experience, which is super different for me because I’ve found a lot of confidence in my preparation. And I’m still prepared; it just doesn’t look the same. I’m learning how to adjust, adapt, and find confidence in new ways.
How was it getting back into surfing bigger waves?
My first few sessions back at Haleiwa and the North Shore were really hard. The way I’ve always looked at and dealt with fear is taking it in bite-sized chunks – just keep getting reps in, putting myself in uncomfortable situations, and hopefully get more comfortable. A year later, I feel like my hormones have settled, I think my postpartum has settled, and with the time that I’ve put in the water, I’m feeling more confident.
What made you decide to return to the CT?
When I walked away two years ago, the door wasn’t closed on competition. But I didn’t know how I was going to feel emotionally and mentally. I didn’t know if I was going to feel healthy and strong enough to do it. But I did feel like there were some things that were unfinished for me, but I was also really happy and content with everything that had happened. Years from now, I didn’t want to think I was healthy and strong enough, I should have said yes. I don’t want to take my health for granted, and I’m so happy to feel like I’m at a level where I can compete.
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How were your first comps back at the Haleiwa Pro and Florence Pipe Pro?
As much as there was pressure, it felt kind of liberating to feel like I was in the underdog position again. There were no expectations – they were my first events back, and I just wanted to see what would happen. I’m very happy I did those events. It’s different, it’s a whole other level at a CT event. It gave me confidence, but I know that I do have to step it up going into the first event of the season.
There’s so much young talent on the CT right now. How do you think you’ll stack up?
One of the really neat things was to be a fan the last two years. It’s really cool to see where the sport is and how it’s progressing. Especially in waves of consequence, it’s insane how far the women have come. It’s weird to talk about myself and how I would stack up, but I think the surfing is there. It’s just what’s going on between the ears and making sure I’m in a solid, confident place and making good decisions when it comes to heat strategy. Not only have the women progressed on a performance level, but everyone’s competing really well. There are no heats that are going to be easy.
Has motherhood made you more cautious with the spots you’re willing to surf?
I’ve looked at myself in waves of consequences, and those haven’t always been my strength. It doesn’t come very naturally. I have to work at getting myself over the ledge. So, it’s not something that’s new; I still have the same feelings that I did before. If it gets to certain conditions, I definitely am okay with not having to push the limits of certain things anymore. I might be a little more cautious. I got a helmet from Red Bull that I’m trying to get used to at Pipe.
What are your travel plans for this year?
My family is going to come with me to everything! I haven’t left my daughter yet, so it would be really hard to be doing two weeks by myself. It’s intimidating looking at all the travel we’re doing, but I told Luke and the WSL that if there were ever a time when my family’s not doing well, I’ll have to consider pivoting. Also, as a mom, I want to show my daughter someday that we did that as a family. She’s not going to remember it this year, but I just want to make memories as a family and hopefully serve as inspiration for her and maybe other moms.
What do you hope ‘Olena learns from watching you compete as a professional athlete?
That mom didn’t stop believing in her dreams. She kept going for things that were important to her, even with having a family. And she kept showing up with a big heart for me, for ‘Olena. I just want to be the best, most present mom that I can be for her. Anything is possible, and she can do it too. That’s all I want for her – to believe in herself.
What are your goals for this year?
Going through this whole transformation and having a child of my own has given me such a deeper appreciation for other pro athlete moms. What Lisa Anderson and some of the moms from the generation before me did and how they balanced it, it’s not easy. But then again, it’s so empowering. You go through those late nights where you’re absolutely exhausted and you somehow find the energy. If I’m doing a paddle battle or surfing my third heat of the day somewhere where the current is raging, I’ve got the strength. I know I do.
For the most part, I try to keep [my goals] to myself because I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I’d rather go out and do it. But I definitely have big goals for myself, and I have goals that scare me a little bit. But I’m excited about them. We’ll see what happens.
