A French photographer’s stunning photo of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, seemingly suspended mid-air over the ocean, has been labelled the best photo of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The now iconic snap from AFP photographer Jerome Brouillet shows Medina celebrating his near perfect wave in Tahiti on Monday.
Brouillet captured the moment just as the Brazilian jumped off his board, while the board also seemed suspended in mid-air, perfectly vertical next to Medina.
Brouillet took to Instagram to post his photo which has since gone viral, and been re-published by dozens of international news agencies.
He says the photo, and photography in general, came down to a mix of a mix of preparation, devotion, timing, some experience and a touch of luck, very much like surfing.
Brouillet writes:
On July 29, 2024, at 6:23 am, arriving on the spot by boat, we knew it would be a great Olympic surfing day. At 9:30:31 am, Gabriel Medina take off on the best wave of the day for a perfect ride.
At 9:30:38 am, he jumps out of the wave with a celebration that spread immediately all around the world.
10 minutes later, my mobile starts beeping. It still hasn’t stopped…
That day, Gabriel was in the water at the right place, at the right time, and so was I. Congratulations @gabrielmedina !
Medina also shared the photo to his Instagram page, which has attracted over 6 million likes.
Legendary! The picture of the 2024 Olympics?!
Jerome Brouillet captured the moment Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacted to surfing the one of the biggest waves of the day, scoring a historic 9.90, which is the highest single wave score in Olympic history 👏🌊 pic.twitter.com/79bkG98Mwh
— Mo Imam (@MoAImam) July 30, 2024
Gabriel Medina had to soar for the photog to capture one of the greatest Olympic photos I've ever seen. The video is even more poetic in slow-mo.
Astounding shot by Jerome Brouillet#Surfing #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/ya0NTJJV1Z pic.twitter.com/KeznJNXxkH
— Latifat Adebayo-Ohio (@Phatill) July 30, 2024
This moment from Olympic Men's Surfing. 🤯 #GabrielMedina#OlympicSurfing
📸 Getty Images/Jerome Brouillet pic.twitter.com/AtasnkVApY
— World Surf League (@wsl) July 30, 2024
