How South Florida athletes are faring at the Paris Olympics

One South Florida athlete won a gold medal in Tahiti and three others advanced to the semifinals of their events in Paris on Tuesday, Day 11 of the Summer Olympics.

Here’s a look at how they’re doing.

SURFING

Caroline Marks won the second Olympic women’s surfing competition in a close battle with Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb in Tahiti.

Marks, a Boca Raton native who lives in Melbourne Beach, prevailed 10.50 to 10.33 on the strength of her best wave, which scored 7.50 compared to Weston-Webb’s best of 5.83.

“To win the final, you had to get in the barrel, which is what you dream of when you surf Teahupo’o,” she said. ““Teahupo’o is one of the scariest waves in the world, but also one of the most beautiful waves in the world. Overall, really happy. It was an amazing day.”

Marks’ gold is second consecutive for the U.S., after Carissa Moore won the inaugural Olympic surfing competition at the 2021 Tokyo Games. The semis and finals were delayed for four days due to poor wave conditions.

“First heat, the swell was still pretty small and slow, and we were doing turning maneuvers. So that’s a bit different when you think of Teahupo’o,” Marks said. “But in the final, the waves got a lot better, and it was a rising swell.

“Nobody really knew how quick it was going to come up or what was going to happen, but it was nice to watch Kauli [Vaast of France, men’s gold medalist] and Jack [Robinson of Australia, men’s silver medalist] before going against Tati to see how they approached the line-up. And Kauli being a local here, he really knows where to sit.”

Marks won the 2023 Tahiti Pro title at the Teahupo’o break. She is the first goofy footer -- right foot forward -- since 2005 to win a world title.

WATER POLO

The U.S. women’s team, which is going after its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, defeated arch rival Hungary 5-4 in an intense quarterfinal match Tuesday at La Defense Arena. Ashleigh Johnson, U.S. goalkeeper, had 17 saves. Johnson grew up in the Redland and graduated from Ransom-Everglades.

“Every time we play Hungary we know it’s going to be like a final,” said Johnson, who has won two Olympic gold medals with the national team. “They have a lot of confident shooters who are willing to shoot at any moment -- sometimes from random spots. And their defense has no holes.”

Coach Adam Krikorian said the team’s defense was “on point,” although offense was a little ragged.

“Ashley played phenomenal,” he said. “When we play Hungary, their passion for the sport oozes from them. To play a legendary water polo country in this venue -- it’s just an honor.”

The U.S. will play Australia in the semifinals on Thursday.

TRACK AND FIELD

Miami Northwestern High alum Aaliyah Butler qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 400 meters, finishing second in her heat with a time of 50.52.

Kendall Ellis of Pembroke Pines also advanced to Wednesday’s semis. Ellis, a St. Thomas Aquinas graduate, qualified first her repechage round with a time of 50.44.

ARTISTIC SWIMMING

The U.S. placed fourth in technical routine and second in free routine Tuesday to move up to second place overall with a combined score of 643.0225, trailing China and ahead of Spain going into Wednesday’s acrobatic routine, the last of three team disciplines in what was formerly known as synchronized swimming.

Daniella Ramirez of Miami, who is a UCLA student, is a member of the resurgent U.S. national team, back at the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

The team, based in Los Angeles, has been increasing its level of difficulty under Coach Andrea Fuentes, a four-time Olympic medalist for Spain. Fuentes’ husband, two-time Olympic gymnast Victor Cano, acts as the team’s acrobatic coach and has been key in refining their lifts.

“We took training ideas from American football,” Fuentes said. “Until now, our practices were always the same. And then I was like, ‘Let’s try different roles.’ So the flyer will work with Victor, while at the same time, the pushers will work on CrossFit, to be stronger.”

Ramirez, 22, comes from a family of synchronized swimmers, swimmers and divers. She graduated from Florida Virtual School.

SAILING

Erika Reineke of Fort Lauderdale was to sail in the ILCA 6 (women’s dinghy) medal race but it was postponed because of light air, a persistent problem in Marseille. The sailors drifted around for two hours before the race was called off. The gold medal has already been clinched by a Dutch sailor and the silver has been secured by a Danish sailor.

NACRA 17 skipper Sarah Newberry Moore of Miami and crew David Liebenberg finished their regatta in 16th place overall and did not qualify for the medal race. Their best finish in 12 races was third and their net point total was 141.

“It was nice to end on a high note with a 3rd place on our last day,” Newberry Moore said. “We put a couple more puzzle pieces together and experienced the potential we know we have. It’s a special way to end the event as this is the last regatta for us as a team.”

Italy, Argentina and Great Britain lead the mixed multi-hull fleet going into the medal race.

In the mixed 470 class, five-time Olympian Stu McNay, who trains in Coconut Grove, and Lara Dallman-Weiss did not make the top-10 cutoff for the medal race. They finished in 13th place overall after scoring an 18 and 22 in Tuesday’s races.

“It was a tough day out there, we got some good starts but weren’t able to pull it together,” McNay said. “It’s the end of our condensed campaign. We had a good year and a half run and are psyched to have made it to the Games. We had greater hopes in terms of our result – on a personal level we both feel we could have performed a little bit better.”

Said Dallman-Weiss: “That’s how it goes in the life we lead, you pour your heart out for the campaign. It’s certainly emotional.”

BREAKING

Logan Edra competes Friday in the new Olympic sport of breaking at the Place de la Concorde. It’s called breaking, not break dancing, because it is scored like a competitive event.

Edra, who grew up in San Diego, is an instructor at the BreakinMIA dance studio in Hialeah Gardens where students learn to combine “high flying tricks with dance and music to create a unique movement and outlet of expression.”

Edra’s Filipino-American father got her into break dancing to hip-hop music when she was 8 years old, and the nickname he gave her -- Logistx -- has stuck.

Victor Montalvo from Kissimmee is competing in the b-boy division. Catch it now because it won’t return for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 6:04 PM.