Berlin. He is already the winner of these Olympic Games: Gabriel Medina has provided the best photo 15,700 kilometers away from Paris.
During the Olympic Games, the sports world is focused on Paris. Meanwhile, the biggest spectacle is taking place 15,700 kilometers away from the French capital. Here in the South Pacific, off the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, one of the most famous waves in the world breaks: Teahupo‘o.
The wave is named after the nearby homonymous village on the Pacific island—a mecca for surfers worldwide. Gigantic volumes of water hit a coral reef in front of the island and rise within seconds into nearly perfect waves—some reaching heights of seven meters. This perfection, however, comes with danger: When the surfers paddle into the wave and the water piles up behind them, the reef is beneath them. In some places, it is clearly visible and is covered by only about 50 centimeters of water. Anyone falling here lands on sharp-edged corals and rocks. Because of this, surfers in Teahupo‘o frequently suffer serious injuries. Many now surf at the Olympics with helmets.
The decision to move the location for Olympic surfing here instead of surfing on the French Atlantic coast sparked intense discussions ahead of the games. However, it may have paid off, at least from an advertising perspective for Olympia and the surfing sport.
Teahupo‘o: Water masses collide here with a coral reef and immediately rise up.
© Getty Images | Pool
Gabriel Medina: Millions follow the Brazilian on social media
In the qualification round, Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina created perhaps the most spectacular image of the competition. Medina paddled into a nearly perfect wave, shot through the barrel, lifted off over the wave lip, and celebrated his ride while still in the air. For a moment, it looked like the Brazilian was flying over the ocean—and a photographer pressed the shutter.
Medina is likely pleased not only with the 9.90 points from the judges that secured his advancement but also with the successful photo. On his Instagram profile, the pro surfer shared the image and quickly gathered over three million likes. Numerous media outlets reported on the spectacular performance. Medina can thank French photographer Jérôme Brouillet. He humbly stated, “Well, I just clicked at the right moment this time.”
Surfers at the Olympics: Medina has already won the World Championship tour
Pro surfer Medina has been a mainstay of the “World Surf League” (WSL) for years. This is akin to the world championship in sailing, occurring each year and consisting of several competitions held around the world. In recent years, Brazilian surfers have been dominant here. Medina won the WSL for the first time in 2014 (then still the ASP Tour), followed by victories in 2018 and 2021.
Medina is quite familiar with the wave in French Polynesia: he has finished second in the WSL competition in Teahupo‘o four times. In 2018 and 2014, he even won the tour events there. In his first victory at Teahupo‘o, he defeated perhaps the still most famous surfer in the world: Kelly Slater.