World champion surfer Carissa Moore is heading to the 2024 Olympics knowing it will be her last competition, for a while at least. That's because she hopes to start a family with her husband soon after the games end. 

"I'm not just a competitive surfer," she says. "I'm a sister, I'm a daughter, I'm a friend and also hopefully, one day, a mother. Having a family of my own is something that is super important to me and is really meaningful."

While she is excited to start this next chapter in both her career and her life, she admits she is a bit scared. 

"I've really had to look at myself and my identity and throw myself into the unknown and take a leap of faith," she explains. "All my friends who are men who are on the tour, obviously, they're able to have families. They've already started their families. It's a big decision for me."

Moore first started surfing with her dad in Hawaii when she was just 5 years old and began winning competitions by age 11. At 18, she became the youngest person to win a surfing world title. 

Now 31, she hopes her break from competing will also reconnect her to her love of surfing, which she considers a lifestyle outside of just a competitive sport. "I hope to be doing it until I'm old and gray and also with my babies one day," she says. 

While she hasn't fully processed the changes about to come for her, she does recognize that these games will feel different than last time. After waiting a year to compete in the delayed 2020 Olympics, Moore won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in surfing on a beach outside of Tokyo. 

This year, while the rest of Team USA departs for France, Moore and her competitors will head to French Polynesia. The surfing venue in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, is home to some of the biggest waves ever ridden.  

"I'm sure it's going to hit me pretty hard, but I'm excited," she says about it being her final competition. "I am a little nervous about the venue because it is a really intense, intimidating wave. But I'm going to try my best to give myself the best chance and hopefully, it falls into place again."