Honorary Brazilian citizen Lewis Hamilton gives shoutout to Olympic winner Gabriel Medina
Lewis Hamilton recently celebrated Gabriel Medina's achievement at the Paris Olympics after the Brazilian surfer won bronze medal in the men's shortboard surfing event. The Mercedes ace reposted Medina's podium picture and congratulated the Brazilian on Instagram.
Gabriel Medina claimed the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after he got the better of Alonso Correa of Peru in the third-place match-up at the Teahupo'o reef pass in Tahiti. He managed a score of 15.54, compared to the Peruvian's 12.43.
Medina, the hot favorite to win the gold medal, failed to reach the final of the event after he lost out to Jack Robinson of Australia.
Hamilton, who was made an honorary citizen of Brazil in 2022, is a big-time surfing enthusiast. And he did not miss the chance to congratulate the 30-year-old on his achievement. The F1 driver took to his official Instagram account and reposted Medina's podium picture with a congratulatory emoji caption.
Interestingly, Gabriel Medina has been making headlines for a few days now after one of his photographs went viral on the internet. French photographer Jerome Brouillet's surreal photography skills brought out a picture that stunned many, including Lewis Hamilton.
Brouillet waited for his opportunity on a boat in Tahiti, he did not know what was coming at him. As a big wave seemed to crash down on Medina, he rode it with style and helped the French photographer produce a spectacular photo at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
When Lewis Hamilton spoke about participating at the Olympics
Lewis Hamilton opened up about potentially competing in the Olympics in an interview earlier this year. The seven-time F1 world champion stated that he might try out an Olympic sport someday, but for now, his fencing or surfing is not at an optimum level.
The Mercedes ace made multiple appearances in Paris recently to support his friends amid F1's summer break. When asked if he was looking at a potential Olympic entry anytime soon, he stated:
"No, I'm not good enough to be in the Olympics [with surfing or fencing] but maybe I'll do an Olympic sport one day."
As of now, Lewis Hamilton is focused on the 2024 F1 season. The British driver managed to grab two quick victories in a short time in Great Britain and Belgium, and will be looking to repeat this feat in the second half of the season.
The Mercedes driver is currently standing in P6 of the Drivers' Championship with 150 points, 34 points ahead of his teammate George Russell. However, he needs to make up massive ground (127 points) over the next few races before he can think of challenging Max Verstappen for the Drivers' Championship title.