The image, taken by Jérôme Brouillet for Agence France-Presse, shows Medina and his tethered board performing parallel levitations over the South Pacific Ocean. Rather than a scene of serenity, the photo tells a vivid story of the competitive spirit of the Olympics, given that Medina used his right arm and raised index finger to make the “No. 1” gesture while in mid-air.
Medina, 30, a three-time World Surf League champion, had good reason to proclaim his supremacy. He had dropped into a barrel with panache and emerged on the other side, not only with aplomb, but with all his fingers raised to signal the judges to give him a perfect 10. Some did, and Medina came away with a 9.90, which was a new Olympic record for a single-wave run.
Medina then rode the wave back and gave the back of the wave a triumphant kick. Having photographed the Brazilian star in similar poses many times in the past, Brouillet was ready.
“I wasn’t surprised, I was prepared,” the 39-year-old, who shoots surfing and other sports, said Monday night. “The other photographers on the boat and I thought he was going to kick it, and he did.”
“So I pushed the button,” he added with a laugh.
Taken just before Medina dove back into the water, Brouillet’s photo also made waves. Distributed by his Paris-based news agency and Getty Images, it quickly gained momentum online, with messages praising the photo turning into countless shares. Brouillet, originally from France, used a firm grasp of English to talk about his eye-catching work and how he learned it had gone viral during a break in Olympic action.
“I took [out] “I had so many notifications on my phone, about Instagram and stuff like that. I just clicked and I saw an unusual number of followers following me,” he said with a laugh. “So I guessed something was going on, and then I saw first a message from Brazil with the picture, and then there’s – I don’t know how to say it in English – in the vortexand then… it goes viral. Incredible, surprising.”
Asked about the surprise of the reaction to his photo, Brouillet said: “I never thought it was possible that this shot would be so well liked, but I can understand why. … The alignment of Gabriel and the board – some have tried to say it was photoshopped, but no, Gabriel and the board are just aligned like that, with the leash connecting the two.” [elements].”
As for Medina, that record allowed him to earn an overall score of 17.40 for his outing, which was more than enough to beat Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist. The third-round result sent Medina into Tuesday’s quarterfinals against compatriot Joao Chianca.
Medina’s match on Monday was played in what turned out to be a pleasant moment on a day at Teahupo’o where conditions provided “serious waves,” as one competitor put it, before the weather deteriorated to the point that the third round of the women’s competition had to be postponed.
“I never imagined we could have waves like this at the Olympics,” Medina said (via Reuters). “I’m comfortable when the waves are good and as long as it’s like that, it’s good for everyone. (…) Today was a good day, for sure.”
It was also a good day for Brouillet, who was stationed with six other photographers in a boat near the action. He said he didn’t know Medina personally, and even if he had, it was unlikely they would have had a conversation about the photo they created together.
“Like me, he didn’t know that this shot would shake the world,” Brouillet said. “For him, it was just another ride on the wave, like he does every time, and I was photographing it like I do every time.”
“So,” he continued, “I thought, ‘OK, good picture. I’ll send it to the publisher.’ And then an hour later, it was, ‘Wow.’ The storm.”
