Meet Carissa Moore, the Top-Ranked Woman Surfer in the World

If, like us, you've been obsessively following every update on the Tokyo Olympics, then you've probably spotted the name "Carissa Moore" on a few headlines. But if you're still unfamiliar with the name, then allow us to introduce you to the famous athlete—better known as the top-ranked women's surfer in the world.

The four-time world champion recently made history as the first woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal in her sport, and naturally, fans are thrilled. She told NPR, "I feel super blessed, super fortunate. It's been an incredible experience. It's been a crazy couple of days, a little bit of a rollercoaster of emotions just trying to figure out the break, find my rhythm."

Now that there's so much buzz surrounding the young surfer, we thought we'd learn a bit more about her background. Keep reading for everything we know about Moore.

According to her official website, Moore travels the world as a professional surfer. She typically spends half the year living out of her suitcase and chasing waves, and for the other six months, she enjoys being at home in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she was also raised.

On her site, she wrote, “When I'm not surfing, you can find me scrapbooking, visiting with my family, training or taking naps.”

As it turns out, great surfing skills run in Moore’s family. According to ESPN, her father, Chris, was also a pro surfer who trained with Olympic coaches and won several competitions as a young adult. Since he lived near the water, Moore got to surf with her dad before and after school, and she quickly fell in love with the sport.

In her website bio, she wrote, “My Dad taught me how to surf when I was five years old at Waikiki Beach and I was immediately hooked. The ocean is my happy place!”

In December 2017, Moore got married to her longtime boyfriend, Luke Untermann, in a gorgeous outdoor wedding in Hawaii. The pair had three hundred guests at the ceremony, including fellow pro surfers Bethany Hamilton, John John Florence and Coco Ho.

She told The Knot, “We’re just high school sweethearts who are so excited to be starting this next chapter of our lives together.”

She continued, “I’m so happy with how everything turned out. My wedding planner really did an amazing job making this a huge dreamy luau on the north shore. Luke and I are so grateful.”

Right now, Moore and Untermann share two dogs: Maya and Tuffy. Their furry friends have already made a few appearances on More's timeline, including on Mother's Day in 2020. The athlete posted a sweet photo with her pet and joked, "I’m a dog mom haha. Looking forward to the real thing one day... but not anytime soon."

In 2013, Glamour named the surf champion a Woman of the Year because of her many victories and huge influence in the surfing world. Fellow surfing champion Kelly Slater was quoted saying, "She's the best in the world right now. And what's scary is, she just keeps improving."

While speaking with the magazine, Moore revealed that one of her biggest goals is to empower other women. She said, "I hope I can inspire girls to be confident in who they are and what they stand for."

While talking about the sport, she added, "Girls can do exactly what the guys are doing. We can do airs, we can do huge power carves, but with a little grace too." *cue round of applause.*