The surfer of the iconic Olympic photo: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Gabriel Medina, with the best Olympic shortboard mark (9.90), described what has become a viral image of Paris 2024 using the words of Philippians 4:13.
TAHITI · 31 JULY 2024 · 16:03 CET
The Brazilian who beat the Olympic record with a perfect wave will also be remembered for an iconic photo of these 2024 games.
Gabriel Medina, three times world champion, earned a 9.90 after perfectly surfing a 5-meter wave in Tahiti, French Polynesia (thousands of kilometres away from Paris).
It became the best performance ever in an Olympic competition.
Realising that his exercise would be unbeatable, Medina used the final impulse of the wave to jump into the air will pointing with an index finger to heaven. And there was Jerome Brouillet, on a boat for photographers, to capture the moment in an image that has gone viral.
Gabreil Medina's Instagram post got over 6 million likes on Instagram, and comments from followers saying the image made them think of the passage in the gospels when Jesus Christ walks on the water.
The surfer only typed a Bible verse to describe the moment: “I can do everything through him who strengthens me Philippians 4:13”
After Tokyo 2020, Medina went through a personal crisis and a divorce. After leaving all competitions for two years, he explained: “It’s not a secret, I suffered depression and started to get professional help. I was scared because everything lost meaning to me”.
Fight for the medals against another Christian
On 1 august, Medina will compete in the quarter finals of the 2024 Olympics against another Brazilian, Joao Chianica, who is also known for his Christian faith. In fact, Chianica wanted to surf on a board with a large image representing Jesus Christ but the rules of the Olympics, which forbid religious expressions, have forced him to leave the idea.
After qualifying for the next round, Chianica posted a picture of himself praying in the water with the text: “Amen, Lord. Today it was a dream, competing on waves like these was always a dream”.
In June, after finishing 5th in a competition in El Salvador, the surfer expressed: “During great times be Grateful, during the hard times be Graceful”.
Tokyo's winner, another believer
The gold medallist of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, Italo Ferreira, is also a Christian.
“I have trained a lot in the last months, and God has accomplished my dream”, he said visibly shaken after winning the first ever surf competition in an Olympic scenario. “I can only thank God for giving me the opportunity of doing what I love”, he said.
One more year
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Published in: Evangelical Focus - life & tech - The surfer of the iconic Olympic photo: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”