Gabriel Medina

Gabriel Medina is a Brazilian professional surfer. He began surfing at eight, and a win at the Rip Curl Grom Search at age 11 kickstarted a succession of amateur, regional, and national titles. In 2011, Medina became the youngest Brazilian surfer to gain access to the WSL Championship Tour (CT) at just 17. Despite joining the tour midway through the season, Medina became a rising star by winning two events in his rookie season.

Medina made history as the first Brazilian surfer to win the World Championships in 2014. He continued to dominate the sport, securing a place in the top three for the next three years and eventually clinching the world titles again in 2018 and 2021, consolidating his status as the world's number-one surfer.

His meteoric rise faced its first major setback at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where surfing made its inaugural appearance. Despite his stellar achievements before the competition, he landed a humbling fourth place. Medina narrowly missed a podium spot in the sport's first-ever Olympic final, losing to Kanoa Igarashi in the semi-final before Owen Wright outscored him in the bronze-medal contest. Medina returned to competition after his six-month mental health break in late 2022.

Participating in various events during the 2022 season, he injured his left knee at the Oi Rio Pro, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Undeterred, he returned in 2023 and expressed a renewed drive to reach the top of the podium and made a comeback at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. A photo of Medina suspended in the air over a wave went viral while he was celebrating his recording-breaking 9.90 single-wave score in the fifth heat of the third round.