French sports photographer Jerome Brouillet has taken what people are already calling the best photo of the 2024 Paris Olympics. That's a big shout, with another 11 days of competions still to go - but then it is a stunning photo that encapsulates a moment of triumph. News agency France 24 asks if this is the "Greatest surf shot ever?, whilst Australian news network News.com.au says it "may just be the greatest sports photo of all time".
The image shows Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina rising triumphantly out of the surf having just successfully tackled one of the biggest waves rolling in Teahupo'o - the Tahitian venue for the 2024 Olympic surf competition. He went on to score a near-perfect 9.9 - a record score for an Olympic competition.
Medina's fans love the photo too – with the decisive moment having already gained over 6 million likes on the three-time world champion's official Instagram page.
Jerome Brouillet was shooting from a boat with his Nikon Z9 in the perfect position to catch the moment as Medina "kicks out" and the end of his run. "You know something is going to happen. The only tricky moment is where he is going to kick out? Because I'm blind! Sometimes he makes an acrobatic gesture and this time he did that and so I pushed the button," he told France 24.
His Z9 is capable of shooting 20fps, but the Tahiti-based AFP photographer uses the burst mode in moderation. "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 admits. This is one of four images he shot of the surfer's celebration.
The shot is made more remarkable as Brouillet was effectively shooting blind - not sure where he would break through the wave. But the photographer was surprised with the shot's popularity. "I was just checking my phone on the six-minute break after the shoot and I had lots of notifications on social media and I thought something is happening with this shot," he told the BBC. "It's very cool, it's a nice shot and lots of people love it. It's not really a surf photograph so it captures the attention of more people."
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