1. Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira was born on 22 December 1993 and is a Brazilian professional surfer.
51 Facts About Gabriel Medina
1. 2.
Gabriel Medina won the 2014,2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships.
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In two appearances at the Olympic surfing tournament, Medina won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
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In 2009, at age 15, Gabriel Medina became the youngest surfer ever to win a major Qualifying Series event.
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Gabriel Medina joined the World Surf League Tour in 2011 alongside eventual rival John John Florence, and in his rookie year he finished within the top 12 of the ASP World Tour.
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Since 2015, Gabriel Medina has earned more Championship Tour victories than any other competitor.
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Gabriel Medina became the first person to land this move in competition, during the Oi Rio Pro 2016.
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Gabriel Medina was born in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, and raised in the city's district of Maresias.
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Gabriel Medina is the son of Simone Pinto Medina and Claudio de Jesus Ferreira.
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Gabriel Medina began surfing at age four and at 11 won his first national championship, the Rip Curl Grom Search in the category Sub-12, held in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro.
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Gabriel Medina won many Brazilian amateur championships, becoming champion at the Volcom Sub-14, Quicksilver King of Groms, and Rip Curl Grom Search, as well as winning the state championship three times.
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At 14 years old, Gabriel Medina participated in the finals of the Paulista Championship, became the Paulista Junior Champion, and surfed at the World Qualifying Series 6-star event Onbongo Pro Surfing 2008 in Ubatuba, where he managed to defeat his idol Adriano de Souza, aka Mineirinho.
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In July 2009, Gabriel Medina won a contract with Rip Curl and endeavored to pursue a professional surfing career after that.
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Ten days later, Gabriel Medina became the youngest male winner of an open-age pro competition by winning the Maresias Surf International in Brazil at age of 15.
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Gabriel Medina's victory broke one of pro surfing's longest-standing records, held by Australian Nick Wood, who won the 1987 Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach as a 16-year-old.
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In 2011, Gabriel Medina won several championships with top surfers, surfing the WQS 6 Star Prime in Imbituba, and the two WQS 6 Star in France and Spain.
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Gabriel Medina was victorious in the Pro Junior World Championship in French waves.
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Gabriel Medina signed an extension contract with Rip Curl just in the same week of his debut on the 2011 ASP World Championship Tour, by the age of 17, by the mid-season rotation.
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Gabriel Medina went on to finish his rookie season with two WCT events wins, despite competing for only half of the season.
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In 2013, Gabriel Medina went on to win the World Junior Tour in 2013 at age 19.
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Gabriel Medina dropped to 5th on the rankings after finishing 13th on the Billabong Rio Pro, but re-assumed the pole after winning the Volcom Fiji Pro.
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Gabriel Medina won the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, the seventh WCT event of the season in Tahiti, winning a highly competitive final with Kelly Slater.
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Later in the year, after finishing in 2nd place in the last event of the season at the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Hawaii, Gabriel Medina went on to become the first ever Brazilian ASP World Champion by the age of 20.
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In 2015, after a sequence of average results, Gabriel Medina won the Quiksilver Pro France, capturing his sixth WCT event win and his second in Hossegor, France.
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Gabriel Medina finished runner-up, with de Souza becoming the first Brazilian ever to win the Hawaiian CT event.
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On 14 May 2016, during the Oi Rio Pro, Gabriel Medina made history and became the first surfer ever to land the move "Backflip" in competition.
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Gabriel Medina went on to finish the competition in third place.
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On 17 June 2016, in the Fiji Islands, Gabriel Medina won his seventh WCT event, his second in Cloudbreak, in heavy conditions.
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Gabriel Medina later managed to secure two more event wins reaching 9 WCT wins in his career, by the age of 23.
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Gabriel Medina finished the season in second place, extending his streak of finishing the season in at least the top 3.
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Gabriel Medina made history by being part of the first-ever goofy-footers final in J-Bay, against Italo Ferreira and for being second every goofy-footer to win the event, the first in 35 years.
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Gabriel Medina competed in the Open Men's division and went on to finish the event with the bronze medal, behind fellow CT surfers Kolohe Andino and countryman Italo Ferreira.
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Less than a week later, Gabriel Medina captured his 14th CT event win, the third win at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch, in the Freshwater Pro, climbing the rankings and reaching the first position.
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Gabriel Medina performed poorly during the European Leg and was eliminated in the Round of 16 in Quiksilver Pro France and MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal.
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Gabriel Medina caused controversy in the 2019 Billabong Pipe Masters by dropping in on his fellow competitor.
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Gabriel Medina finished the season in 2nd and lost the world title to fellow country man Italo Ferreira, with a runner-up finish to Ferreira at the Billabong Pipe Masters.
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Gabriel Medina was selected to represent his country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics alongside 2019 WCT Champion Italo Ferreira.
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Gabriel Medina finished the Olympics in fourth place, narrowly losing to Australia's Owen Wright in the bronze medal match.
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The win saw Gabriel Medina join Tom Curren, Andy Irons and Mick Fanning with three World Titles.
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Gabriel Medina is 2nd only to Kelly Slater for the most World Titles among surfers currently on the CT.
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In January 2022, Gabriel Medina announced that he would take an indefinite leave from competitive surfing to focus on his mental health.
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Gabriel Medina competed in his first 2022 season event at the Quiksilver Pro G-Land, where he placed 3rd.
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Gabriel Medina placed 3rd at his second event of the season at the El Salvador Pro.
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However, at his 3rd competitive event of the season at the Oi Rio Pro, Gabriel Medina fell on his board and picked up an injury to his left knee, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
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On 3 March 2024, Gabriel Medina won the men's final at the ISA World Surfing Games, which qualified him for the 2024 Olympic Games as Brazil's third competitor.
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The semifinal against Jack Robinson had Gabriel Medina eliminated only surfing one wave, as the Tahitian sea calmed down and did not offer another opportunity for him to score.
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Gabriel Medina then beat Alonso Correa to get the bronze medal.
48.
On 11 January 2025, Gabriel Medina announced on his Instagram that he sustained a pectoral injury during a session in Maresias, Brazil, forcing Gabriel Medina to withdraw from an unspecified number of events in the 2025 WSL Championship Tour.
49.
The World Surf League later confirmed that Gabriel Medina withdrew from the first three events of the 2025 World Surf League Championship Tour in Hawaii, Abu Dhabi, and Portugal.
50.
Gabriel Medina has been with his shaper Johnny Cabianca since 2008.
51.
Gabriel Medina uses about 100 surfboards a year, with a volume ranging from 28.5 to 29.1 litres.