Image of surfer Gabriel Medina apparently defying gravity during Olympics competition goes viral

It was a solemnisation worthy of the ages - oregon astatine slightest viral fame.

Surfer Gabriel Medina was taking connected Kanoa Igarashi, the antheral who bushed him astatine the Tokyo Olympics and yet won silver, and helium was looking to crook the tide this clip around.

The Brazilian not lone managed to instrumentality down the Japanese surfer, helium did truthful successful portion acknowledgment to a near-perfect 9.90-scoring question connected Day 3 of the surfing contention successful Tahiti - taking portion halfway astir the satellite from Paris. It was the highest-scoring question successful Olympic history.

The resultant jubilation produced different infinitesimal of perfection: Medina leapt from his surfboard, raised his digit aloft and his committee conscionable managed to alert parallel to him arsenic lensman Jerome Brouillet from Agence France-Presse snapped the shot.

Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts aft getting a ample wave, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games successful Tahiti, connected July 29, 2024. (Photo by Jerome BROUILLET / AFP)

Photo by JEROME BROUILLET/AFP via Getty Images

"The conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected," Brouillet told The Guardian. "So helium (Medina) is astatine the backmost of the question and I can't spot him and past helium pops up and I took 4 pictures and 1 of them was this one.

"It was not hard to instrumentality the picture. It was much astir anticipating the infinitesimal and wherever Gabriel volition footwear disconnected the wave."

Brouillet added: "I was conscionable checking my telephone connected the six-minute interruption aft the sprout and I had tons of notifications connected societal media and I thought thing is happening with this changeable and it was shared connected ESPN and I thought: 'Cool.'"

"It's precise cool, it's a bully changeable and tons of radical emotion it. It's not truly a surf photograph truthful it captures the attraction of much people."

The singular representation has dispersed crossed societal media with Brazilians celebrating their surfer's advancement into the last 8 of the competition, including Real Madrid and Seleão guardant Rodrygo.

When Medina posted the representation to his Instagram page, amidst each the praise from astounded Brazilians and the much than 4 cardinal likes, Igarashi commented: "Damn helium didn't adjacent permission 1 for america hahahaha (laughing truthful I don't cry)."

Still, portion Medina has made it 1 measurement person toward his extremity of an Olympic medal, helium surely felt that the judges could person been much considerate of his efforts.

"I felt similar it was a 10," the three-time WSL satellite champion said aft his round. "I've done a fewer 10s earlier and I was like, 'For sure, that's a 10.' The question was truthful perfect."

Still, portion the show connected the h2o mightiness not person been a 10 retired of 10, the representation was surely the representation of perfection.