When he got out of bed yesterday, Gabriel Medina (30 years old) did not expect to catch waves as good as those he caught at Teahupo’o in French Polynesia (known as the ‘Wall of Skulls’) during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Now his photo is everywhere. He has become the image of the Olympics.
The Brazilian has gone viral. And not only that. He became the favourite to win gold by achieving the highest score in the Olympic surfing competition so far with a giant blue barrel.
It was in the third round that the Brazilian defeated his opponent with a five-metre wave that catapulted him into the sky of Tahiti. As if levitating, he raised his index finger. He achieved a score of 9.90, the best in the history of surfing at the Games.
Who is Gabriel Medina?
The surfing elite, who have seen him compete in the World Surfing League (WSL), agree that Gabriel Medina, a surfer born in Sao Sebastiao, “has no weaknesses.” They call him “Air Medina” and he is a three-time WSL champion and current world champion of the International Surfing Association (ISA).
Monday was not an easy ride. The ‘Wall of Skulls’ really showed its teeth after two days of more favourable conditions. Again and again, surfers paddled hard and threw themselves into the waves that sank below sea level when they crashed against the reef. Those who made the mistake suffered terrible, horrible falls, broken boards and rescues with jet skis.
Still, the youngster managed to steal the show on Monday with some of the most incredible waves ever seen in competition. “I never imagined we could have waves like this at the Olympics,” he said after the event.
“I feel comfortable when the waves are good and as long as it’s like that, it’s good for everyone…. Today was a good day, for sure.”
The gold medal in Tokyo 2020 went to Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira, who is not competing to defend his crown. Medina, for his part, knows the great wave of Teahupoo well and knows what it is like to fight for Olympic medals, after his fourth place at the Tokyo 2020 Games, after losing the duel for bronze to Australian Owen Wright.
