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USA TODAY
Perfect photo of near-perfect surfer goes viral at 2024 Olympics
By Josh Peter, USA TODAY,
3 hours ago
A perfect 10 eluded Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina Monday at the Paris Olympics . But he, his surfboard and a photographer produced something no less extraordinary.
Medina and his surfboard appeared to be levitating a few feet above the ocean water in a celebratory moment during the the round of 16 competition in Teahupo’o, Tahiti .
Later, Medina expressed some disappointment that the judges awarded him a 9.90 rather than a perfect 10 for his best wave of the day.
“I felt like it was a 10,’’ Medina, a three-time world champion, said after winning his heat and advancing to the quarterfinals. “I’ve done a few 10s before and I was like, ‘For sure that’s a 10’. The wave was so perfect.”
Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29. JEROME BROUILLET, AFP via Getty Images
But there was no need to consult the judges about the picture-perfect moment of celebration.
Brouillet, who works for Agence France-Presse, took the photo from a boat nearby the action.
“So he [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.”
Tuesday's men's and women's competitions were postponed by officials due to the conditions.
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