Brazilian Surfer ‘Superman' Gabriel Medina's Viral Photo Is 'The Picture Of Olympics 2024', Here's Why!

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Brazilian Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina's stunning wave ride in Tahiti, captured by AFP photographer Jerome Brouillet, has taken the world by storm. The photograph, which shows Medina exiting a wave after achieving a record Olympic score, has become a viral sensation and is being hailed as the defining image of the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

Brouillet was strategically positioned in a boat in the channel, waiting for Medina to 'kick out' or exit the wave face at the end of his run. This spot allowed him to capture the climax of Medina's ride perfectly. "Every photographer is waiting for that," Brouillet said. "You know Gabriel Medina, especially at Teahupo'o, will kick off and do something. You know something is going to happen."

Capturing The Iconic Moment

The photograph shows Medina soaring ashore, pointing a finger to the sky with his surfboard at his side, embodying a moment of sheer triumph. Despite not having a direct view of the initial action, Brouillet's anticipation paid off when he captured this iconic moment. "The only tricky moment is where he is going to kick out? Because I'm blind! Sometimes he makes an acrobatic gesture and this time he did that and so I pushed the button," Brouillet recounted.

Brouillet remained cautious despite capturing such a brilliant shot. "When I'm shooting at Teahupo'o I don't shoot in such a high burst mode because at the end of the day, if you push too hard on the button you come back with 5,000 shots in a day, and I don't like that! I got four shots of him out of the water and one of the four shots was this photo," he explained.

Global Acclaim

The image quickly gained widespread attention, being used by numerous publications globally and shared millions of times online. Australian media conglomerate .au hailed it as 'the greatest sports photo of all time,' while TIME magazine called it 'the defining image of triumph of the 2024 Summer Games.'
Medina himself shared the photo on his Instagram account, where it rapidly garnered over 2.4 million likes. Despite the overwhelming response and accolades, Brouillet remained focused on his work. "I'm sleeping at a friend's house near Teahupo'o and we'll have a quiet one because if tomorrow the event is on, I have to wake up at five in the morning!"

Medina's Near-Perfect Ride

The 30-year-old surfer came agonisingly close to a perfect ride, scoring a 9.90 on his second wave. Despite throwing up 10 fingers to the judges with his hands high above his head, he just missed out on perfection.
"Felt amazing to get some good waves and I almost got a 10 so I was really happy with that. It's really a dream come true to compete in waves like this for the Olympics. It was really in my dream and I'm realising this today and I'm very happy to be a part of this," Medina told olympics.com.

Facing Tough Competition

In the fifth heat of the day, Medina faced Japan's Kanoa Igarashi amidst mammoth-sized waves. "When it's like this you just worry about yourself and there's waves for everyone and you've got to go for it. There's no different strategy. You've got to surf and got to show what you got and be focused on your goal," he said.

Medina expressed his satisfaction with the conditions: "I'm happy because I got many waves and because the conditions were very good and it's not often you get the opportunity to surf these kinds of waves. It's difficult to come by so you have to make the most out of any moment."

Another Viral Moment

Another photo from Paris Olympics 2024 that has gone viral features tennis sensations Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. The veteran and future star of Spain were both playing for the same side, creating another memorable moment from these games.