Gabriel Medina celebrates highest Olympic surfing score in style

Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina scored the highest single-wave score in Olympic history in the fifth heat on Monday, scoring 9.90. That qualified him for the men’s quarterfinals. A photographer who followed him captured one of the most iconic photos of the Paris Games.

After seemingly securing victory, Medina’s celebration was captured by photographer Jerome Brouillet. Both Medina and his board appear to float 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 felt he could have done even better.

“I felt like it was a 10. I’ve done a few 10s before and I thought, ‘This is definitely a 10.’ The wave was so perfect,” Medina said.

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

(Photo: Ed Sloane/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Brouillet, the photographer, told it The Washington Post He was ready for the photo, having previously taken photos of Medina.

“I wasn’t surprised, I was prepared,” he said. “Me and the other photographers on the boat assumed he was going to kick out, and he did.”

This summer, surfers will compete nearly 10,000 miles from Paris in Tahiti. Tahiti is designated an overseas country of France, marking the furthest distance from a host city that has ever hosted an Olympic event.

Olympic surfing made its debut at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and has been approved for this summer’s Olympic Games and 2028.

The action continues on 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) join Medina in the men’s quarterfinals.

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(Photo: Jerome Brouillet/AFP via Getty Images)