There is no shortage of amazing photography at the Olympics, which in some ways, is because of the scenery.
In Paris, fencing takes place in the Grand Palais, which is as iconic as the name implies. The horses are living their best lives in Versailles, and the Opening Ceremony kicked off with fireworks off the Pont d’Austerlitz, a historic bridge. In Rio, everyone could not get enough of the capybaras on the golf course. There is always that one photo that becomes the enduring image of the Games.
Of course, there is skill here, too: The world’s news organizations send their best and brightest photographers, all eager to capture The Shot. At the Olympic surfing competition on Monday, which is more than 15,000 kilometres away from Paris, there was already an early contender for best photo of the Games.
First, a bit of background: The surfing is in Teahupo’o, Tahiti because the Olympic organizers wanted to be more inclusive of which sites were picked to be part of the Games, and Tahiti won out over choices from mainland France that were part of the list.
Back to Monday: Brazil’s Gabriel Medina was on the course, and was about to “kick out”, which means to exit the wave as you are ending your ride. Agence France-Presse photographerJerome Brouillet, who is based in Tahiti, was waiting for this moment on a boat nearby. While he did not know at the time how iconic this photo would be, he did notice that the upcoming wave looked promising.
“Every photographer is waiting for that. You know Gabriel Medina, especially at Teahupo’o will kick off and do something,” Brouillet told his own news agency. (A built-in exclusive, really, for them).
“You know something is going to happen. The only tricky moment is where he is going to kick out?”
Well, Brouillet figured out how to capture this tricky moment.
Medina looks like he is suspended in the air — and many on social media were wondering if it was Photoshop or AI-generated, as the image circulated without context. But it is a real photo, from a real photographer, in a real moment.
“When I’m shooting at Teahupo’o I don’t shoot in such a high burst mode, because at the end of the day, if you push too hard on the button you come back with 5,000 shots in a day, and I don’t like that!” he told AFP.
“I got four shots of him out of the water and one of the four shots was this photo.”
In case you are wondering how Medina fared: The Brazilian, who finished fourth at the Tokyo Games, moved into the quarter-final against countryman Joao Chianco. The surfer he eliminated during this heat when the now-famous photo was taken? Kanoa Igarashi, Medina’s 2021 Olympic opponent who beat him out for bronze.
As for Brouillet, he appreciates how skill and luck intersected for the viral moment.
“I got the shot of the day, I was with six talented photographers on the boat and for sure everyone will forget about it next week,” he said to the Guardian. “Tomorrow won’t be any different.”