Carissa Moore will leave competitive surfing after going for a repeat Olympic gold medal this summer and wants to start a family, a plan that has been in the works for over a year.
“The last few years, it’s been harder to find the motivation to keep competing with the same intensity,” was posted on Moore’s social media. “Unfortunately, the reality is, the wins are fleeting and the feelings with it only temporary. I’m not gonna keep doing it for the empty win, there has to be more to it. How many more titles do I really need? Being at the top of my game, the external expectation is to keep going, but my heart is telling me it’s time to pivot.”
Moore’s agent confirmed Friday that she will have an abbreviated competition schedule this season, starting with the first World Surf League contest at Banzai Pipeline in her native Hawaii in late January and early February.
Moore will then be part of the Olympic surfing competition, which will be held in Tahiti, which also hosts a WSL contest in May.
Moore is leaving the door open to returning to competitive surfing as a mom in future years and possibly bidding for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Moore already qualified for the Paris Games via her 2023 WSL results. She ranked second in the season standings behind countrywoman Caroline Marks.
They’re joined on the U.S. Olympic team by Caity Simmers, who was fourth in the WSL standings.
Moore is a five-time world champion dating to her first crown in 2011, when she was 19 years old. Surfing made its Olympic debut in Tokyo.