On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true.

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The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard.

The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI.

“So he [Medina] is 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,” said Brouillet.

“It was not hard to take the picture. It was more about anticipating the moment and where Gabriel will kick off the wave.”

But Brouillet had knowledge and experience on his side – he could see one of the best waves of the day was approaching and knew that Medina often does this kind of celebration at the end of the wave.

With the images being sent automatically from the camera to his editors, the reaction soon came, and Brouillet admits he was “a little bit shocked” by it. “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 and it was shared on ESPN and I thought: ‘cool’.”

“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.”

Medina, a three-time world champion, had appealed for a perfect wave score of 10 as he prepared to sail upwards but had to settle for 9.9, the best score of the Olympics so far. In an Instagram post later, the Christian surfer passed the praise on, quoting Paul from Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who strengthens me.”

For photographers, the aesthetic appeal lay in its deceptive appearance. Medina appears to be standing on solid ground, his leg rope suspiciously horizontal and his board perfectly mimicking his stance.

There was also praise for the perfect timing of Brouillet, who would have needed a fast shutter speed to capture a clear image while on a moving vessel in choppy ocean conditions.

For Brouillet, the memorable image was enjoyable but its lasting appeal he leaves for others to decide.

“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. Tomorrow won’t be any different.”

Medina was competing in round three when the wave came, helping him easily beat Kanoa Igarashi with a combined two-wave score of 17.40 out of a possible 20, avenging his loss to the Japanese surfer in the Tokyo Games in 2021. Medina faces fellow Brazilian Joao Chianco in the quarter-finals.

The eye-catching image will help raise profile of surfing at the Olympics, which is hosting the sport for just the second time, after its debut in 2021.