Caitlin Simmers (born October 26, 2005) is an American surfer from Oceanside, California who has competed professionally since 2018. She qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Career
Simmers qualified for the 2022 CT by finishing fourth in the 2021 Challenger Series.[2]
Her first victory on the professional circuit was when she won the US Open of Surfing, the first event of the CS in 2021.[3][4]
In 2022 Simmers, who was 16-years old, decided to withdraw from the 2022 WSL Championship Tour to focus on developing her surfing and staying close to her family.[5] She returned to compete in the 2022 Challenger Series where she once again qualified for the 2023 WSL Championship Tour.[6] She won the first CS event in 2022, beating Molly Picklum in the grand final of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro in Australia.[7]
In 2023, Simmers made her debut in the world surfing elite. Her first major result was victory at MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal beating Courtney Conlogue in the grand final.[8] After the mid-season cut, Simmers remained in the top positions of the ranking. She won her second CT stage by defeating Tyler Wright in the VIVO Rio Pro event.[9] She was second in the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro, losing in the final to Caroline Marks. She finished the ranking in fifth place, qualifying for the Final Five of the WSL Finals 2023 in her first season in the CT.[10] For being the best rookie of the season in the final rankings, she won the 2023 Rookie of the Year award.[11] In the final five Simmers beat Molly Picklum in the first heat, but was defeated by Caroline Marks and finished fourth in the CT 2023 Final Ranking.[12]
Personal life
Simmers was born on October 26, 2005 in Oceanside, California, and grew up near the coast where she started surfing when she was still very young.[13] Parents, Ryan and Tracy Simmers, and brother, Timo, are all surfers, and were instrumental in encouraging Caitlin in the sport. Caitlin quickly fell in love with surfing, and began competing in local competitions.[14]
