The photo, taken by Jerome Brouillet for Agence France-Presse, shows Medina and his tethered board seemingly suspended in parallel above the South Pacific Ocean, but with Medina making a “No. 1” gesture in mid-air with his right arm and raised index finger, the image is more of a striking testament to Olympic competitive spirit than a tranquil scene.
Medina, 30, a three-time World Surf League champion, had every reason to assert his dominance: He not only remained calm when he deftly dove into the barrel and emerged on the other side, but he held up all his fingers, signaling the judges to give him a perfect score of 10. And some did, earning Medina a score of 9.90, a new Olympic record for a single wave run.
Medina caught the wave and emerged triumphantly from behind it, and Brouillé was ready, having photographed the Brazilian star in a similar pose several times in the past.
“I wasn't surprised. I was prepared for it,” the 39-year-old cameraman, who has been shooting surfing and other sports for nearly a decade, said in a phone interview Monday evening. “Me and the other cameramen on the boat, we expected him to kick out, and that's what happened.
“So I pressed the button,” he added with a laugh.
Brouillet's photo, taken just before Medina hit the water again, also generated quite a stir. Distributed by his Paris-based news agency and Getty Images, the photo quickly became popular online, with posts of praise leading to countless reshares. In fluent English, the French-born Brouillet spoke about his eye-catching piece and how he found out about it going viral in between the Olympics.
“I took [out] “I had a bunch of notifications on my phone for Instagram and stuff. I clicked on them and I had more followers than usual,” he said, laughing. “I thought something was up, and then the first thing I saw was this photo from Brazil. And then, I don't know how to say it in English, VortexAnd then… it spread by word of mouth. It was amazing, I was amazed.”
When asked about being surprised by the response to the photo, Brouillet replied, “I never expected this photo to be so well received, but I understand why. … Some people have said the position of Gabriel and his board was Photoshopped, but that's not the case. There was just a leash connecting the two of them, and that's just how they were.” [elements].”
Medina, meanwhile, skated in record time to earn an overall score of 17.40 points, more than enough to surpass Tokyo 2021 Olympic silver medalist Igarashi Kanoa. His third-round result sets up a quarterfinal meeting with compatriot Joao Chianca on Tuesday.
Medina's match on Monday came at a good time on a day when Te Aupō offered what another player described as “real waves,” but then the weather worsened, forcing the postponement of the third round of the women's competition.
“I never expected waves like this at the Olympics,” Medina said (via Reuters). “When the waves are good it's a relief and when they're like this it's good for everybody. … Today was definitely a good day.”
It was also a good day for Brouillet, who was stationed on a boat near the scene with six other photographers. He said he doesn't know Medina personally and, even if he did, they wouldn't have had a conversation about the images they'd put together.
“Like me, he had no idea that this shot would have such an impact on the world,” Brouillé said. “For him, it was just another day climbing a wave, and I was just photographing him, like I always do.”
“So,” he continued, “I thought, 'Okay, this is a great photo. I'm going to send it to my editor.' And then an hour later, I was like, 'Wow.' Storm.”
