![Overall winner: Golden Moment by Jérôme Brouillet: Brazil’s Gabriel Medina reacts after coming off the back of a big wave in round three of the men’s surfing competition at the Paris Olympics. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti 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.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. It was not hard to take the picture. It was more about anticipating the moment and where Gabriel will kick off the wave.”](https://image-prod.iol.co.za/16x9/1600/Overall-winner-Golden-Moment-by-Jerome-Brouillet-Brazil-s-Gabriel-Medina-reacts-after-coming-off-the-back-of-a-big-wave-in-round-three-of-the-men-s-surfing-competition-at-the-Paris-Olympics-The-Brazilian-took-off-a-thundering-wave-at-Teahupo-o-in-Tahiti-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-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-It-was-not-hard-to-take-the-picture-It-was-more-about-anticipating-the-moment-and-where-Gabriel-will-kick-off-the-wave?source=https://iol-prod.appspot.com/image/5f957aae3a3f0dcde861c323aff82cb0a149c4ca/2000&operation=CROP&offset=0x104&resize=2000x1125)
A photograph of Brazilian Surfer Gabriel Medina, which captures an incredible moment where athlete, spectacle and photographer come together in perfect harmony, has won this year’s World Sports Photography Awards.
The image was taken by Tahiti-based French Photographer Jerome Brouillet on the third day of the Surfing event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Teahupo’o, French Polynesia.
This image is one of 24 winning images across sports categories including American Football, Baseball, Equestrian, Golf, Racquet Sports and Football. More than 2 200 professional sports photographers from over 96 countries around the world submitted more than 13 000 images to this year’s competition.
The World Sports Photography Awards are the only global awards for sport photography. Entered by the world’s best sports photographers, judged by leading figures from sport, media, photography, brand and creative. They are designed to recognise and celebrate incredible sports images and the photographers who take them. They tell compelling stories of the emotion, passion, athleticism and focus that are at the heart of sport.
Sophie Collins, Chief Marketing Officer at MPB said “I am once again inspired by the extraordinary talent and creativity showcased in this year’s entries. Sports photography holds a unique power to freeze dynamic action and evoke profound emotion in a single frame, capturing stories that transcend the boundaries of the playing field. It’s been thrilling to see the innovation and passion from this year’s participants, setting a remarkable standard for the years to come.”
Collins continues: “Sport is about action, movement and energy, so why is photography such a compelling medium for sporting narrative? Because in the moment the full story of the journey to that moment is encapsulated and the full potential of what happens next is contained. Athletes, spectators and photographer were all drawn to this one moment.
“World Sports Photography Awards celebrates the finest of those moments, the moments where talent and art combine to reveal profound things about what sport really means.”
