Carissa Moore

Carissa Moore is a retired professional surfer, the 2020 Olympic champion, and the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021 WSL Women's World Tour Champion. She made history as the first surfer to win the WSL world title and the Olympic title in the same year, 2021. Moore also had the honor of being the first-ever winner of the Olympic gold medal in women's shortboard surfing. She started her surfing journey at the age of five off the beaches of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her father, and has won 29 WSL Championship Tour events throughout her career.

In 2010, Moore qualified to compete on the ASP World Tour, now called the World Surf League. She won two major contests, finished third overall, and was named Rookie of the Year. Moore achieved tremendous success at a young age, becoming the youngest winner of a Triple Crown of Surfing event in 2008 and accumulating 11 National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Titles. She also made history in 2011 as the first woman to receive a wildcard entry into the Men's Triple Crown of Surfing.

Moore's winning streak continued as she claimed her first World crown in the following season, unseating four-time defending champ Stephanie Gilmore in the process. At 18, Moore became the youngest person – male or female – to win a surfing world title. She also took top World Tour honors in 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Moore won the WSL season at the WSL Finals in Trestles in 2021, the Triple Crown of Surfing in January 2022, and various WSL events, including the Surf Ranch Pro, Margaret River Pro, and Billabong Pro Pipeline.

Moore competed for the United States in surfing on the U.S. women's team at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where she won the Olympic gold medal with a score of 14.93. She also competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, announcing her retirement shortly after. Moore has been vocal about advocating for Hawaiian representation in the sport, and despite representing Hawaii in the WSL, she represented the US at the Olympics due to the lack of division between mainland and Hawaiian-born surfers.

National Geographic has recognized Moore as an Adventurer of the Year, and Glamour magazine has named her a Woman of the Year. She has also been voted Top Female Surfer in the SURFER magazine poll numerous times and was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame. The State of Hawaii declared January 4 to be Carissa Moore Day in honor of her achievements. She was also featured in Naomi Hirahara's anthology "We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States" in 2022 and won the James E. Sullivan Award that same year. Outside of competitive surfing, Carissa Moore is the founder of the Moore Aloha Charitable Foundation, a cause that utilizes surfing to bring young women together. Moore has been featured in various media outlets such as ESPN, Glamour, and The New York Times.