Kauli Vaast and Caroline Marks claimed gold in the men's and women's surfing at the Prais Olympics.
TAHITI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- French surfer and Tahiti native Kauli Vaast surfed to victory in the Olympic surfing men's finals on Monday, while Caroline Marks continued the U.S. monopoly on the women's Olympic title.
The Olympic surfing competition reached its final day of action after a three-day pause due to a lack of wave conditions. Having grown up surfing in Tahiti, Vaast again flexed his local knowledge on the waves of Teahupo'o in the men's final, scoring a total of 17.67 points, including a 9.5-point wave, and topping his Australian rival Jack Robinson, who only completed one wave.
"I can't believe it right now. I don't really realize it, but I just made history - not just for me, for all Tahitians, for surfing and Polynesians and friends. I can't be more proud to represent Tahiti and friends at home," said Vaast.
In the women's finals, Marks improved from her fourth place in the Tokyo 2020. She beat Brazilian surfer Tatiana Weston-Webb to become the second U.S. women's surfing gold medalist after Carrisa Moore in Tokyo 2020.
"Your whole life goes into a moment like this, so it's just really special," said Marks.
Marks had a better single-wave performance with 7.5 points. Weston-Webb's last effort boosted her marks to 10.33 points, just short of Marks' 10.5 points.
Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil put on a show en route to winning the bronze medal for Brazil in the men's event. Johanne Defay added another medal for France in surfing by winning the women's bronze medal. ■
