A photo of a Brazilian surfer professing Christ at the Summer Olympics has gone viral.
The snapshot, taken by photographer Jérôme Brouillet, shows Gabriel Medina in the air shortly after riding the crest of a wave. He looks like he is standing upright in the air as he points his finger towards heaven. His surfboard mirrors his stance, its nose also pointed at the sky.
When on social media Medina commented on the photograph, he explained that his celebration was a reference to Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who strengthens me.”
The Olympic competition where the photo was taken was held at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, around 16,000 kilometers from Paris, where the majority of the Olympic competitions are taking place.
Swiss Bishop Marian Eleganti, who commented on the photo, welcomed the gesture as a stark contrast to the blasphemous opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games.
“The incredible snapshot speaks for itself,” Eleganti stated. “Medina floats upright in the air above the wave’s crest, as does his lifeless board, whose position effectively and naturally emphasizes the surfer’s posture. The whole thing is no coincidence; it is an incredibly powerful statement.”
“These athletes, who push themselves to the limits of their capabilities, are aware of these limits,” the Swiss bishop said. “They do not have a double truth in their lives: a secular one, in sports, in which God plays no role and only their own performance counts, and a pious one, with which they believe in God on occasion.”
“No, everything they do, including their sport, which demands everything of them, has to do with God. They are aware that they owe their success to Him and also accept defeat with the mindset of Christ. They are witnesses of the Gospel, which has made so many European Christians into beautiful and holy people across all social classes and estates. There are countless examples of this, especially in France’s past.”
Another Brazilian surfer, João Chianca, was reportedly not allowed to use his surfboard with an image of Christ the Redeemer on it due to the Olympics’ rules.
However, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic also professed his Christian faith, declaring that “God is great” after winning the Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles final in Paris.
Also, sixteen-year-old Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal found a creative way to circumvent the Olympics’ restrictions on religious symbols and statements, using sign language to say “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life” into the camera.