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Carissa Moore is not just trying to defend her Olympic gold medal in surfing this summer — she's also looking to cap her brilliant career in style.
The five-time world champion has already announced that she is stepping away from the sport after the 2024 Paris Olympics, potentially making this summer the last time one of the greatest women's surfers in history will be on the big stage.
Moore, 31, spoke with TODAY's Hoda Kotb on the latest episode of Hoda's "Making Space" podcast about her Olympic triumph in 2021, how she recovered from a rock-bottom moment after her third world title, and her decision to walk away from competing professionally.
"It's a little nerve-wracking," she said about deciding to hang it up. "It is like standing on the side of a cliff, and you're taking a leap into the unknown. A lot of people have been like, 'OK, well, now what?' And I'm like, 'I don't have a plan.' And I've always been quick to want to find an answer, but I'm also learning that it's OK to not have a plan.
“I’m trying to just trust where I’m at," she continued. "I’ve definitely made this decision because it’s been tugging at my heartstrings for a while now."
Here's what to know about the surfing journey of the Native Hawaiian with the Olympics less than 100 days away from kicking off.
Moore's father taught her to surf when she was 5
She grew up surfing the break at the world-famous Waikiki Beach in Hawaii under the tutelage of her father, Chris Moore, an accomplished swimmer and recreational surfer who pushed her into her first wave when she was 5 years old.
"I don't remember that first wave, but I just remember the joy of going surfing with my dad," she said.
The elder Moore could sense at an early age that his daughter had an aptitude for surfing. Carissa Moore began competing professionally while still only a junior in high school at Punahou School in Honolulu, the alma mater of former President Barack Obama.
"I was around 10 years old when I remember having a serious conversation with my dad, and I was like, 'I really want to do this,'" Moore said. "And he's like, 'I don't really think you actually understand what that entails, but it's going to be some sacrifice, there's probably going to be some tears, but it's going to be a lot of fun. And I believe that I can help you achieve your dreams.'"
At 18, she became the youngest ASP Women's World Tour champion in history in 2011.
"It's funny because I always ask my dad and he's like, 'You naturally had a talent for just reading the waves, and there was like a certain grace that you had,'" she said.
"It always makes me really happy to hear Dad talk of those early days," she added.
He remains one of her biggest supporters and lives right next door to Moore and her husband in Hawaii.
"I feel so fortunate that my dad from the very beginning was someone who believed in me more than I believed in myself," Moore said. "I think it's so important to have that person that you can lean on. Because when times are going to get tough, and you're going to doubt yourself, if you have that outside voice and validation of strength, it really helps you to keep going."
Moore's husband is her high school sweetheart
Despite competing as a professional surfer during her senior year of high school, Moore somehow found time to meet her husband, Luke Untermann, whom she married in 2017.
"I didn't have much of a social life," she said. "I actually was just reminiscing on this with my husband."
"He was like, 'I barely saw you. You had an oversized sweatshirt with your earphones on and were always in the silent zone of the library,'" she recalled.
They first spent time together when he scrapped a party he was going to have in order to attend one Moore was throwing.
"I don't know if it was love at first sight, but it was definitely talking to him," Moore said. "He was just genuine and he was kind and it was easy to talk to him. ... He has this like free spirit, and he's always looking to find a way to have the most fun every single day."
After she steps away from surfing following the Olympics, the two plan on starting a family.
"I feel like I’m a multidimensional human being like we all are, and I would love to be a mom and start a family," she said. "My husband would have loved to have had kids like years ago. That’s definitely something on the horizon."
Moore won gold at the inaugural Olympic surfing competition
Surfing was introduced as an Olympic sport at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was a bit of a surprise, like, 'Wait, is this really happening?'" Moore said about surfing becoming an Olympic sport. "I was a little skeptical, apprehensive at first. I was like, 'I’m not sure how this is going to work. How is this going to change our sport?' I didn’t really know."
Moore brought home the gold in the women's competition at Japan's Tsurigasaki beach by beating South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag. Moore entered as the No. 1 seed and lived up to her billing.
"I feel so grateful for the Tokyo Olympics, and just that whole journey, because I think it actually brought me closer to my home and my community," she said.
Moore's 'rock-bottom moment'
While Moore was a prodigy from the moment she embarked on her professional career, she struggled mentally in the wake of her success.
Following her third world title, she felt like she was at a crossroads.
"I was like, 'OK, well, how many more of these things do I need?'" she said. "So I was at a point where I kind of was just going through the motions doing it, because that's what everyone expected of me.
"And I was like, 'OK, well, I don't know what else to do with myself,'" she continued. "So I lost a lot of passion and purpose. And without that, the joy went with it. And I had just gotten married, so you'd think I'd be the most joyful person ever. And it was what was happening in the water — how it was performing — was leaking into my personal life. And I was like, 'OK, well, something’s got to change.' I hit kind of a rock-bottom moment where I was pretty depressed. I was taking my losses really hard."
Moore saw a psychologist and began journaling and meditating while focusing on positive self-talk.
"Working on the way that I talk to myself, the conversations in my head, it doesn't ever stop," she said. "It's like it's a constant work in progress."
The 'intimidating' challenge of defending her Olympic gold
This year's Olympic surfing competition will be held at the legendary Teahupo'o, a ferocious and world-renowned surf break in Tahiti. The waves form powerful cylinders above a jagged reef, leaving little margin for error.
"It's one of the most challenging, intense, intimidating waves in the world, just because of the way that it goes from super deep water to shallow reef," Moore said. "And the water just builds and bends over itself.
"And the risk is big. People have taken really big falls and have gotten really injured there. But there's also the other side of it where you could get the ride of your life. ... I'm going to try to give myself the best chance possible and train as much as I can and put myself in a good headspace."
Even though she plans on stepping away from the sport following the competition in Tahiti, that doesn't mean she's putting the surfboard away for good.
"I hope to be surfing until I'm old and gray," she said. "It's strange to think that I'll kind of be wrapping up the competitive chapter in a sense, but I'm not closing the door. Who knows, maybe in a few years, I have an itch that I want to scratch and come back, or maybe I'll put the jersey on and try some fun events. But for now, there's just some other things that are exciting me."