The champion. Photo: Ben Reed//ISA
There are many adults we grow up watching and learning from who become role models, from parents to teachers, older siblings, and the list goes on. At some point though, almost every single one of us clings to an athlete, for better or worse. Carissa Moore may be surfing’s best at carrying that responsibility today. She’s a gracious champion. She cheers on her opponents even in defeat and doesn’t hide her joy or her heartbreak from cameras. She’s a trailblazer in women’s surfing and uses her position to empower younger female surfers. She has a reverence for her sport and culture that makes her a great ambassador. That last part is precisely why we should expect to see more of her as a face of surfing’s (still-new) place in the Olympics.
Team USA recently sat down with the five-time world champion to promote her upcoming appearance at Teahupo’o. The interview is little more than a three-minute promo with a few softball questions, but one part of the conversation between Moore and Ari Chambers was worth spotlighting. Chambers asked the gold medalist to have a conversation with her younger self, enquiring “What is some advice that you’d give to a younger you?”
“I think the biggest piece of advice I’d give my younger self is to have more fun and not stress so much. Even today I try to be perfect. But there is no such thing. So don’t compare myself. Joy is often stolen when we compare ourselves, so if we can just stay in our lane and know that we are here for a unique and beautiful purpose, just be the best version of ourselves every day.”
Moore announced in January that she’d be defending her Championship Tour win at Pipe before stepping away from the CT in 2024. The next time we see her surf a heat will be in the Olympics this summer, which may also be her last time competing. A New York Times article acknowledged that Moore is ready to start a family with her husband and she is looking to find herself outside the realm of professional surfing, mentioning briefly that a return to the Championship Tour is possible.
“All those wins, the competitive part that’s so much of my identity, I’m taking that away, and I’m facing myself this year,” she told the outlet. “And that’s scary. Like, who am I? Am I going to be OK? Will I be able to love myself and think that I’m worthy without this?”
