Surfing: Marks (USA) has advanced to the Women’s finals
Caroline Marks of the United States will surf for gold.
Marks (USA) and Johanne Defay of Team France both had a combined heat score of 12.17 in Women’s semi-final heat #1 but the tie-breaker is settled by the best single wave score and that belonged to Marks with her heat best 7.0. That score was earned by catching one of the heat’s biggest waves, pulling into a clean frontside barrel, exiting and carving back to the power source, and then snapping a crisp hammer off the lip to closeout the ride. It was easily the most complete ride of the heat.
Defay (FRA), surfing on her backhand, exclusively used turns to earn her points. Vertical and powerful turns perfectly timed with the crashing lip was her calling card in this heat. She was surfing fast and fluid and earned her best wave score, a 6.50, on a wave where she only performed 2 maneuvers, a near vertical snap in the pocket followed by the most radical turn of the heat, a fins-out slash into the closeout section before free-falling with the white water to the bottom of the wave and riding away.