Who is Gabriel Medina? Everything you need to know about the Olympic surfer's viral picture from the Paris Olympics

Modified Jul 30, 2024 10:03 GMT

Gabriel Medina is a Brazilian Olympic surfer who has won multiple World Surf League titles. He is a part of Brazil's surfing contingent at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics. A picture of the Brazilian from the surfing events of the Paris Olympics held 16,000km from the French capital in the city of Tahiti recently went viral on the internet.

The Brazilian surfer scored an almost perfect score on his second wave in Tahiti to set a new Olympic record for the single wave run after posting a score of 9.90. His celebration during the event has become one of the most iconic moments of the Paris Olympics so far.

Gabriel Medina's viral picture that stormed the internet

Gabriel Medina's celebration moments after scoring 9.90 became a viral sensation. In the viral picture, the Brazilian surfer appears to raise and point his right hand to the sky as he is airborne in celebration after creating a new Olympic record.

The iconic image was captured by Jerome Brouillet, working for Agence France-Presse. Due to the perfect click, Gabriel Medina appears to be airborne above the waves as he celebrates his performance. In no time, the picture became viral on social media and was discussed by many fans as being a remarkable moment from the summer games.

It was termed "photo of the day" by social media users.

"Well folks, I think I've found the "Photo of the Day." My goodness, what a shot of Gabriel Medina!" reads a caption.

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Post the iconic performance, Gabriel Medina advanced to the quarterfinals in Tahiti. He spoke to Olympics.com about his incredible performance.

“Felt amazing to get some good waves and I almost got a 10 so I was really happy with that. It’s really a dream come true to compete in waves like this for the Olympics. It was really in my dream and I’m realizing this today and I’m very happy to be a part of this,” he said.

Gabriel Medina's family and early career

Gabriel Medina was born in São Paulo, Brazil on December 22, 1993 to Claudio de Jesus Ferreira and Simone Pinto Medina. He got into the sport of surfing at a very early age and won several championships at the junior level.

Gabriel Medina at Billabong Pipe Masters - Final - Getty Images

With multiple titles from the junior and amateur circuit under his belt, Medina decided to turn pro in 2009 as a 15-year-old.

Top performances of Gabriel Medina since 2009

Gabriel Medina is one of the most experienced surfers on the circuit with 18 World Surf League Championship Tour (CT) event wins and a professional career spanning 15 years. Since his debut as a professional, Medina has won several events and set many records for winning events as the youngest surfer.

One such record is his win at the Maresias Surf International in Brazil in July 2009 as a 15-year-old. Medina won the World Surf League World Championships three times in 2014, 2018 and 2021.