OCEANSIDE — Caitlin “Caity” Simmers made history by becoming the world’s youngest female surf champion on Sept. 6 at the 2024 World Surfing League Finals.
The 18-year-old Oceanside native took home the champion title on Friday, defeating reigning champion and Olympic gold medalist Caroline Marks, who won last year’s title.
Like Marks, Simmers also competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
During the WSL Finals, Simmers beat Marks after three heats – the second time in history for the women’s competition to do so.
Simmers won the women’s championship, while Hawaii’s John John Florence was the men’s champion.
According to the World Surf League, Simmers became the youngest female surf champion in the world and also won California’s first women’s world title in 40 years.
In an Instagram post over the weekend, Simmers said she was “still in the process of processing” her win.
“I felt so much love Friday,” she wrote. “Grateful for the quiet moments that my friends and family gave me in the noisiest times. I wake up everyday in disbelief of my position in life. I am thankful for everyone and everything and still don’t know how wave dancing has (taken) me there.”
Simmers’ first major victory was at the US Open of Surfing in 2021, making her the second-youngest winner in the history of the pro event at the time. She also won the ISA World Junior Championships in Huntington Beach in 2019 and the WSL World Junio Championships in T’ai-tung, Taiwan in 2019.
Beyond her surfing accomplishments, Simmers also attended Coastal Academy High School in Oceanside.
This year was the last for Southern California to host the World Surf League finals at Lower Trestles, located between northern San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County and a few miles south of San Clemente in Orange County, after decades of hosting the championship there.
Starting in 2025, the Lexus WSL Finals championship will be held in Fiji at the Cloudbreak surf spot off the island of Tavarua.
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Kudos to Coast News for covering Caity Simmers’ victory! San Diego County is truly proud of her accomplishment!