Olympic champion Carissa Moore to step away from competitive surfing after Paris 2024

Reigning Olympic gold medallist and five-time World Champion Carissa Moore has announced that she will be stepping away from competitive surfing after she defends her Olympic title at Paris 2024.

Widely considered one of the greatest female surfers of all time, Moore has been a dominant force in the world of professional surfing since her rookie year in 2010.

Now, she’s decided it's time to move on.

“I don’t like the word retirement,” she told the New York Times in an interview published on Friday 19 January. “I like to say a departure from the tour, or just stepping back, or switching gears, or, like, evolving.

The 31-year-old now plans to start a family with her husband, Luke Unterman but is leaving the door open to a return to competitive surfing in the future.

The Hawaii native will still compete in two major events this year: the Lexus Pipe Pro, the first stop on the Championship Tour, and the Olympic Games in Paris.

She first burst onto the scene 14 years ago, when she took bronze and was named rookie of the year in the 2010 edition of the ASP (now World Surf League). The following year, she became the youngest person to win a world surfing title at just 18.

With world titles in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021, Moore's career has gone from strength to strength. She was crowned surfing’s first-ever female Olympic gold medallist when the sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

In a touching video on her Instagram page, Moore posted a highlight reel of clips showing the highs and lows of her career in the sport. Overlying the video, she thanks surfing for everything that it has taught her.

“You told me to dream big dreams full of purpose and possibility,” she said.

In an interview with the New York Times, Moore said that her plan to step away from surfing has been in the works for a year, but she has only shared her feelings with her closest confidantes.