(NEXSTAR) — There have been plenty of memorable moments caught on camera at the Paris Olympics so far — from Celine Dion making her musical comeback and the now-controversial tableau reminiscent of “The Last Supper” during the opening ceremonies, to the countless shots of athletes dazzling in their sports.
However, it seems an image captured on day three of the Olympics, far away from Paris, may just be the photo of the Games.
If you haven’t seen it already, here it is: Gabriel Medina, of Brazil, and his surfboard, appearing to defy gravity over the water on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti.
The image was captured by Jerome Brouillet, and quickly caught everyone’s eyes.
Speaking with The Guardian, the Agence France-Presse photographer said “the conditions were perfect” for the third round of men’s surfing on Monday. Brouillet was aboard a nearby boat when he captured the photo.
“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,” Brouillet told the outlet. As unbelievable as the photo seems, he noted that “it was not hard to take the picture” but all about “anticipating the moment.”
The actual moment was intense, too.
Medina — who narrowly missed medaling in the inaugural men’s Olympics surfing contest in Tokyo four years ago — earned a near-perfect ride on the wave, his second of the heat, getting a 9.90 score. That’s the highest single-wave score in Olympic history, according to The Athletic.
As he exited the massive barrel, Medina was able to leap off his board, leading to the gravity-defying moment captured above.
“Felt amazing to get some good waves and I almost got a 10 so I was really happy with that,” Medina told olympics.com. He now moves on to the quarterfinals, which was scheduled for Tuesday but has since been postponed.
Medina posted the photo on Instagram as well, amassing over 4.76 million likes as of Tuesday morning.
As for the attention his image has gotten, Brouillet told The Washington Post it’s “surprising.”
“I never thought it was possible that this shot would be so much appreciated, but I can understand why.”