Brazil’s Gabriel Medina celebrates highest Olympic surfing score in style

Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina earned the highest single wave score in Olympics history with a 9.90 in the fifth heat Monday en route to advancing to the men’s surfing quarterfinal and a photographer tracking him produced one of the most iconic photos from the Paris Games.

After seemingly securing the victory, Medina’s celebration was captured by photographer Jerome Brouillet. Both Medina and his board appear to be floating above the water as he holds his right arm in the air while making a No. 1 sign with his hand.

Despite making history, Medina thought he could have done even better.

“I felt like it was a 10. I’ve done a few 10s before, and I was like, ‘For sure that’s a 10’. The wave was so perfect,” Medina said.

“It’s super dangerous out there. When the waves are hollow like this, it’s super shallow. There’s some solid waves out there, but we love it.”

Brouillet, the photographer, told The Washington Post he was ready for the shot after photographing Medina in the past.

“I was not surprised about that, I was prepared,” he said. “I and the other photographers on the boat were supposing he was going to make a kick-out, and that’s what he did.”

Surfers this summer are competing nearly 10,000 miles away from Paris in Tahiti. Tahiti is designated as an overseas country of France and marks the farthest distance from a host city an Olympic event has ever been held.

Olympic surfing debuted at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and has been approved for this summer’s Olympics in addition to 2028.

The action continues Tuesday with the bronze and gold medal matches taking place in the evening. Alonso Correa (Peru), Reo Inaba (Japan), Kauli Vaast (France),  Joan Duru (France), Joao Chianca (Brazil), Ethan Ewing (Australia) and Jack Robinson (Australia) will join Medina in the men’s quarterfinals.

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(Photo: Jerome Brouillet / AFP via Getty Images)