Tatiana Guimarães Weston-Webb is leaving the 2024 Paris Games as an Olympic medalist.
In a dramatic final heat on Monday, the 28-year-old Brazilian American surfer had to settle for a silver medal in women’s surfing after losing to Caroline Marks of the United States at Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
Weston-Webb needed a wave of 4.68 points when she caught one in the final two minutes that she took all the way into the reef before finally giving up.
She couldn’t quite barrel the wave but managed to make a few turns, allowing the judges to give her the win. The horn sounded to end the heat before the score was announced.
Weston-Webb was eventually given a 4.50 for her final wave resulting in a total score of 10.33, falling .17 points short of Marks, who finished with a 10.50.
Marks gave the United States a gold medal winner for the second straight Olympics after Carissa Moore won the inaugural surfing event at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Weston-Webb, who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics for Brazil, had surfed her way into the final by knocking out Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy in the semifinals.