On Friday, Caitlin Simmers triumphed at the World Surf League finals, defeating Olympic gold medalist Caroline Marks in the championship match.

At just 18 years old, Simmers made history as the youngest surfer to claim a world championship title.

She broke the previous record held by Carissa Moore, who was 18 years, 10 months, and 18 days old when she secured the Association of Surfing Professionals championship in 2011.

Simmers achieved her victory at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, at the age of 18 years, 10 months, and 12 days.

Her win over Marks, who had just claimed an Olympic gold medal less than six weeks ago and was vying for her second consecutive WSL finals title, capped off a remarkable season.

“I didn’t want Caroline to win because she’s always on top and is incredibly tough to compete against,” Simmers expressed during her interview on the WSL broadcast. “Honestly, she hardly ever falls. So I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

After being named Rookie of the Year in 2023, Simmers enjoyed a dominant season in 2024, claiming victory in three out of nine events leading up to the finals.

On the men’s side, American John John Florence captured his third world title by defeating Brazil’s Italo Ferreira.

Both Florence and Simmers walked away with $200,000 for their championship wins.

The women’s title match featured a thrilling showdown between two leading American surfers in a best-of-three heats format.

Simmers, who entered as the top seed, lost the first heat to Marks, who was seeded second. Marks scored a remarkable 9.60 on her last ride. However, Simmers bounced back in the second heat.

In this heat, Simmers achieved scores of 9.20 and 9.17, resulting in a phenomenal two-wave total of 18.37 out of 20. This score marked the highest combined heat score in finals history, as noted in the WSL broadcast, and was more than sufficient to defeat Marks, who scored a total of 14.17.

In the decisive third heat, Simmers emerged victorious with a two-wave score of 15.16 while Marks, who struggled to find her second wave, only scored 7.17.

“This means everything to me,’’ Simmers exclaimed. “I was experiencing every single emotion today. It’s just (expletive) crazy. I felt so much love from everyone.”

Marks, age 22, earned $100,000 for her runner-up finish. Seeded second, she defeated No. 5 seed Tatiana Weston-Webb from Brazil to make it to the finals.

In their rematch from the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics, Marks secured the winning wave with under six minutes left, defeating Weston-Webb, who had previously won a silver medal in Paris.

Weston-Webb received $75,000 for her third-place finish. Completing the top five were Brisa Hennessey from Costa Rica in fourth place with a prize of $60,000 and Australia’s Molly Picklum in fifth with $40,000.

Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11