There Are Plenty of Dating Rumors Surrounding Olympic Surfer Gabriel Medina — Here's What We Know

The Olympic Games, winter or summer, offer talented and dedicated athletes the chance to compete with other international players to see who can call themselves the best at what they do. While the usual suspects like gymnastics, swimming, and fencing continue to make the rounds, the Olympics are known for adding new categories every now and then. For example, there's now Olympic surfing. Riding the waves was added to the Olympic lineup during the 2020/2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

This paved the way for professional surfers like Gabriel Medina to try and stake their claim on Olympic gold. Gabriel is a Brazilian-born surfer and three-time World Champion from 2014, 2018, and 2021. As of this writing, he currently holds the second-most World Titles among surfers. Naturally, his success led him to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Since making it to Paris, he's gone viral, causing folks to wonder if he's dating anyone. There are plenty of rumors, but do we know anything for sure?

Gabriel Medina has been surfing since he was a teenager. In 2009, he earned the title of the youngest surfer to win a major Qualifying Series event. He was 15 years old at the time. Since then, he would go on to win several more prestigious titles and even be hailed as a national hero in Brazil, though his fanbase over the years has become remarkably divisive. Nevertheless, he is still regarded as an ambitious surfer with plenty of respectable accomplishments under his belt.

However, Gabriel has been the subject of several different dating rumors in the past. In January 2024, Brazilian news outlet Terra reported that Gabriel was involved in an affair with TikToker Vanessa Lopes while he was married to model Yasmin Brunet.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Gabriel allegedly addressed the rumors, claiming, "Evil gossip can make you hate innocent people and love hypocrites. Be wise, there are always two versions of every story told. Listen to them."

Who's Dated Who also purports that Gabriel had been in at least one other relationship with someone named Isabella Settanni. There are also rumors that he'd been with two other women in 2015 and 2014, though these have not been confirmed.

But though his love life might be fraught with controversy and his sportsmanship leaves a lot to be desired according to Brazilian sports fans, that hasn't stopped him from going viral.

While competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics, Gabriel became the subject of one of the most memorable photos from the entire competition. He was captured by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet as the surfer emerged from a wave and was completely airborne for a few seconds. In the photo itself, Gabriel can be seen hanging in mid-air pointing to the sky.

Dating rumors and scandals aside, Gabriel Medina has all but cemented himself into Olympic history with his now-iconic photo.