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There’s no sure thing in surfing, not even for Carissa Moore, a superstar at the peak of her career.
The four-time world champion raised the bar for elite women surfers so profoundly and quickly that she made her sport’s Hall of Fame in her early 20s. Still, she takes nothing for granted as she makes final preparations for the Olympics.
“That’s the cool part about surfing. You can surf the same spot every day. But every day is different and every wave is different, so you have to be ready to adapt,” Moore said in a recent interview with the Star-Advertiser. “You could be the best surfer in the world, but for some reason, you’re out of rhythm with Mother Nature that day, and the waves just don’t come your way. That’s the beauty and the beast of the sport.”
Moore, 28, is usually in tune just fine with the conditions. But for some odd reason, her World Tour championships have come in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019. So maybe the fact that the Olympics were postponed from an even-numbered year to this month is a good omen for her.
She and U.S. teammate Caroline Marks qualified in December 2019, on Maui. Hawaii’s John John Florence is one of the two men on the U.S. team, but because he is recovering from knee surgery, it is unclear whether Florence will compete or be replaced by alternate Kelly Slater.
Moore said she feels extremely fortunate that when the world changed last year it did not affect her as much as many others. She was at home in Palolo for most of 2020, and Hawaii’s quarantine rules still allowed her to be in the ocean.
“It was a situation with the pandemic being out of my control, and when the (Olympics) postponement was announced it was still far enough out where I was still in chill mode,” she said. “I had already qualified and had another year and a half to wrap my head around it and prepare.”
Moore had planned on taking the year off from the championship tour, anyway.
“I feel very grateful that I was at home in Hawaii and our spots were still open and I could still practice and surf,” she said.
Still, there is uncertainty — in addition to whether the games do go on despite the apprehension of many people in Japan due to COVID-19 concerns.
Also, there is no guarantee that there will be waves at the surfing venue, Shidashita Beach, and “I have zero experience there,” Moore said.
“I’ll definitely be leaning on other people’s experiences, and they have some surf cameras you can check daily and see what it looks like,” she said. “You just check all the boxes you can and do the best you can to prepare. And then you leave it up to the universe.”
There was talk of using an artificial wave machine to guarantee competition. Especially since this is surfing’s Olympics debut, Moore said, “Obviously we want to show our sport in the most natural way, but we also want to put on the best show possible. So we’re just praying for some great waves to come.”
Marks, 18, is from Boca Raton, Fla. They know each other, but not well yet.
“We talk, but I’m looking forward to getting to know her better,” Moore said. “Because of the pandemic, we can’t bring our usual crews, so for two weeks it will be us, and our (Team USA) coach (Brett Simpson).”
Marks is a phenom like Moore was 10 years ago.
“Carissa, she pushed the progression of women’s surfing to where it is now,” Marks said. “Ever since I started surfing she’s that one person I wanted to be like and wanted to surf like.”
Moore wants to continue to inspire young girls, through her foundation, Moore Aloha.
“The goal has always been I want to create events where girls feel comfortable to come together to share and lift each other up. Get outside of the comfort zone, but also to be compassionate, and live with the aloha spirit,” she said.
She said she plans to surf “until I’m in the ground,” but doesn’t know how long competitively.
“I would love to be a mom at some point. I have an awesome husband (Punahou schoolmate Luke Untermann, co-founder of Banan), and maybe the roles will shift and I can help him,” she said.
When Moore leaves Hawaii for Japan in two weeks, she will head for something that really was beyond her dreams. As a kid she was a fan of Olympic swimming, gymnastics, snowboarding and ice skating. But she was already a surfer and never had an inkling she might compete at the games.
“I always watched it growing up. I enjoyed the two weeks. But it was not on my radar, ” she said. “I am really honored and proud to represent the USA, and I hope everyone in Hawaii knows I’m also proud to be representing Hawaii and the community of people that raised and supported and loved me. I will be carrying my home with me in my heart. My goal is to share that same love and support and aloha spirit with the world on a world stage.”
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Carissa Moore
>> Surfer, U.S. Olympic Team
>> Born in Honolulu, 1992
>> High school: Punahou 2010
Career Highlights
>> Four-time ASP women’s world champion (2011, ’13, ’15, ’19)
>> 26 WSL event wins, 2008-2019
>> At 21, inducted into Surfers Hall of Fame, 2014
>> At 16, youngest to win Triple Crown of Surfing event, 2008
>> Record 11 national scholastic surfing titles, 2004-2007
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