Unbelievable Photo of Olympic Surfer Is Going Viral

Surfing is an exciting sport to watch all on its own, but an almost-unbelievable photo of a Brazilian surfer competing in the Olympics has people buzzing. NPR reports that three-time champ Gabriel Medina took to the waters off Teahupo'o, Tahiti, on Monday, the third day of competition, and earned "a nearly perfect" score of 9.90 for catching an immense wave, breaking the record. But AFP photographer and fellow surfer Jerome Brouillet is making just as many headlines for the photo of Medina he took from a boat hovering near the action, capturing Medina as he emerged from the wave, appearing suspended in midair, one hand calmly pointed to the sky as his surfboard trailed "perfectly parallel" in the air behind him (check it out here).

USA Today's description of the photo: "Medina and his surfboard appeared to be levitating a few feet above the ocean water in a celebratory moment." Brouillet explains to the Guardian that Medina was "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." He adds that he recognized a big wave coming up and knew from experience that Medina "often does this kind of celebration at the end of the wave." "Touched by grace," Brouillet writes in an Instagram post showing off his prized photo. "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."

Medina posted Brouillet's photo to his own Instagram account, where it had received more than 6.1 million likes as of Wednesday morning. Brouillet, who took the image on a moving boat amid choppy waters, is earning praise from fellow photographers and photography fans alike, though some initially suspected the picture had been Photoshopped or created using AI. Brouillet said that his phone started blowing up with notifications as the image went viral, but he's taking it all in stride. "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 tells the Guardian. "Tomorrow won't be any different." (More Olympics stories.)