Medina is reportedly going to step away from the Championship Tour in his prime, and hinder his chances at Olympic qualification. Photo: Pablo Franco//ISA
As Gabriel Medina is in the midst of a run at his fourth world title, new Brazilian media reports say that it could be his last. According to Diário do Litoral and Surf News Brasil, sources around Medina revealed that the three-time world champ will not compete on the Championship Tour in 2027 to focus on being a father.
Last week, Medina married Isabella Arantes and, during the ceremony, revealed that she is expecting a child. If you remember, last year the couple used a fake baby announcement as a marketing ploy to promote the launch of Medina’s children’s surf brand, Medininha. This time, apparently, it’s for real.
Medina has not publicly confirmed the reports, nor has he indicated when or if he would return to the tour.
Medina’s sabbatical is hardly surprising given the CT trend toward top surfers — such as John John Florence, Carissa Moore, and Filipe Toledo — to take a break during their prime to focus on family.
If the reports are true and Medina misses the entire 2027 season, he’ll miss a chunk of the LA 2028 Olympic qualification. The CT’s top eight men between August 15, 2027 and June 15, 2028 (with a limit of one surfer per country) will earn Olympic slots. If Medina misses all the 2027 CT events, that would rule him out of qualifying for the Olympics through that pathway.
However, Medina could still compete in the 2027 or 2028 ISA World Surfing Games, or the 2027 Pan American Games, to chase a slot. He used the ISA qualifiers to enter the 2024 Olympics.
If Medina returns in 2028, the other variable is his longevity. If anyone can recreate a Kelly Slater-esque CT run into their late thirties and early forties, it’s Medina. But, historically, it’s rare for surfers to remain competitive on the CT in the back half of their thirties. Medina may only have a few elite years of surfing left in the tank, and, now, he’ll miss one of them as he focuses on fatherhood.
