Right place, right time: The story behind the viral surfing photo from the Paris Olympics

Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina had just made Olympic surfing history, receiving a score of 9.9 out of a possible 10 points during the third round of competition Monday at the Paris Games.

Standing with other photographers on a nearby boat off the coast of Teagyoi’o, Tahiti, where the surfing competition is being held, Jerome Brouillet knew what was coming next ... at least to a certain extent.

The veteran sports photographer who had shot Medina several times in the past had a feeling the surfer was going to strike a victory pose.

“I was prepared,” Brouillet told the Washington Post. “I and the other photographers on the boat were supposing he was going to make a kick-out, and that’s what he did. So I pushed the button.”

What Brouillet wasn’t prepared for was what happened after he pressed the shutter button on his camera.

[Photos: A hot, steamy day at the Paris Olympics on Day 4]

The Agence France-Presse photographer ended up with an extraordinary shot, capturing Medina and his board in midair above the water, both vertical and nearly parallel to each other, attached several feet apart by his surfboard leash, which looked like a horizontal tether. The foamy waves behind them form a cloudlike backdrop, with Medina lofting his right index finger high above his head.

“[Medina] is at the back of the wave and I can’t see him, and then he pops up, and I took four pictures and one of them was this one,” Brouillet told The Guardian. “It was not hard to take the picture. It was more about anticipating the moment and where Gabriel will kick off the wave.”

Brouillet told The Guardian the images from his camera automatically go back to his editors. By the time the photographer was able to check his phone during a break in the competition, AFP and Getty Images had already started distributing that particular shot — and reactions were pouring in.

“I took [out] my phone and I had so many notifications, about Instagram and stuff like that. I just clicked, and I saw an unusual amount of followers following me,” he told the Washington Post. “So I guessed something was happening, and then saw first a post from Brazil with the shot, and then … it goes viral. Amazing, surprising.”

He added: “I never thought it was possible that this shot would be so much appreciated, but I can understand why. … 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].”

Medina, 30, is a three-time World Surf League champion (2014, 2018, 2021) who finished fourth at the Tokyo Games in 2021. His near-perfect run Monday helped him defeat defending Olympic silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi, who is based in Huntington Beach, Calif., and competes for Japan.

Medina, who will face fellow Brazilian Joao Chiana in the quarterfinal round, posted photos from Monday’s competition on Instagram, led by Brouillet’s now-famous shot. In his post, Medina also quoted Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who strengthens me.”

Brouillet also posted a group of photos from Medina’s third round to Instagram. Of course, he led with the same image.

“I like to say that taking pictures is a bit like surfing. It’s a mix of preparation, devotion, timing, some experience and a touch of luck,” he wrote. “That day, Gabriel was in the water at the right place, at the right time, and so was I.”