Jérôme Brouillet’s captivating photo of the Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina from Olympics 2024 has broken the internet. Medina, after riding off a roaring wave at Teahupo'o, was pointing to the sky, and the surfboard that was still leashed to his ankle mirrored his moment. World champion surfer Medina raises his index finger toward the sky while seemingly suspended in mid-air above the waves, his surfboard mirroring his body positioning. Despite his appeal for a perfect 10 score, he settled for 9.9, the highest score in the Olympics thus far.

“I never thought it was possible that this shot would be so much appreciated, but I can understand why,” Brouillet, told  Washington Post’s Des Bieler. “The alignment of Gabriel and the board—some have tried to say it’s Photoshopped, but no, Gabriel and the board are just aligned like that, with the leash connecting the two [elements].”

The shot was snapped out in the waters near Teahupo’o, a quaint hamlet nestled on the remote Tahiti island in the vast expanse of the South Pacific—nearly a whopping 10,000 miles away from the hustle and bustle of the Paris games. The Olympic surfing competitions are taking place here due to Tahiti's affiliation with French Polynesia, a cluster of islands that operates as a semi-independent territory under the French flag. The 48 surfers competing in these games are bunking on the luxurious Aranui 5 cruise ship, a fact that has caused quite a stir online.

“I can do everything through Him who strengthens me.” Brouillet stated that “it was not hard to take the picture. It was more about anticipating the moment and where Gabriel will kick off the wave.” Since Medina often does this celebration, Brouillet knew what he was looking for, but the thundering wave just made his click even more thrilling.