Pregnant Olympic Surfer Carissa Moore Plans to Get Her Baby Daughter in the Water ‘As Soon as Possible’ (Exclusive)

Carissa Moore is going to be a gold-medal mother.  

Moore, who won an Olympic gold medal for surfing during the 2020 Tokyo Games, finished fifth in the Paris Games earlier this year. Then, just days after her exit from the 2024 Games, the 32-year-old announced her pregnancy, revealing she was actually surfing for two.   

“I can’t wait to tell my daughter one day she was in the barrel with me at the Olympics,” Moore tells PEOPLE at the premiere of Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘Auana, noting that she hopes her daughter will follow in her footsteps.

Asked how quickly she plans to get her daughter on a surfboard, the Hawaii native says, “I think probably start off with some swimming first. I think my dad got us in the water after a couple months, so as soon as possible, really.”

The Olympian, who’s due in February, showed off her baby bump while attending the event at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel in Hawaii. If the premiere had happened a few months later, Moore says she and her entrepreneur husband, Luke Untermann, might have brought their little one to the show.  

“There’s so much I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to just having a mini and bringing her around with us everywhere and getting to show her the world and hopefully having her fall in love with surfing like I did with my dad,” she shares. “I feel like the adventures are just going to be that much better.”

While Moore’s body is certainly changing, so too is her appetite: “I just always had a sweet tooth, so when I got pregnant, it kind of switched to savory, and I was like, cheese, give me cheese,” she says.

Back in January, the five-time world champion and first-ever Olympic surfing gold medalist announced that she’s stepping away from a career in the sport. However, “retirement” is not the word she used to describe the next chapter.

“I don’t like the word retirement,” the Hawaii native said. “I like to say a departure from the tour, or just stepping back, or switching gears, or, like, evolving.”

Next, Moore had her sights set on starting a family with Untermann — but before beginning that chapter, she knew she wanted to compete in The World Surf League championship and the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

“Surfing is a part of who I am, and it always will be. This is by no means the end,” she wrote in part on Instagram alongside a video announcing the news in August.