Gabriel himself said that he didn't like the format, that he had such a big lead that he deserved to win without WSL finals, but that if he had to surf more, he was going to do it.

He left for California about three weeks before the event, put in time in Lowers' unbearable lineup, was the protagonist of the best moments of free surfing, went to the gym, trained hard, had fun, kept his cool and arrived on the day prepared.

In an event where a little pain, a comment, a sign could have put him out of place, the Brazilian held on to everything and did the same backflip that he did in free surfing in this ill-conceived invention called the WSL Finals.

Carissa herself stated and showed in her surfing that she felt overwhelming pressure to win her fifth title. That was not the case for Medina, she did not show weakness or a symbol of anything, she was a tiger in the line up and did what she had to do to make everything end in her favor.

By pure luck, the ones who deserved to win against the aforementioned invention won. Carissa was one maneuver by Tatiana (which she did not complete) away from losing her title. And, although this is different with Medina because he looked very strong and had the power to respond, if Filipe had completed his last maneuvers, things could have been very different.

In a world where Brazilians have been questioned about a lot of things throughout history, Medina, his class and his balls made it clear that there is no room for criticism. The Brazilian accepted the game, played it and won.

If there is one thing that can be said about this, one of the most overdue titles in surfing history in one of the strangest years in human history, it is that four of the seven stages completed were hand-made for Medina's surfing: Newcastle, Narrabeen, Rottnest and the Surf Ranch. There he achieved two seconds and two firsts and built that solid base that he backed up with the vice-final at Pipe. His two discards were the poor results in Margaret River (he lost in the round of 16 to Seth Moniz) and in Mexico (to Deivid Silva in the quarterfinals).

Yesterday, when it was time to fulfill his dream, the one he set for himself as a child, of winning three titles like Ayrton Senna and Tom Curren (he said this in his speech), he cried like a baby in the year that, as he also declared, he became a man (due to his marriage and the distancing from his stepfather and former coach, Charlao).

People often criticize Medina for a lot of things: that he makes ads shaving his armpits, that he hangs out with Neymar and other celebrities, that he puts up a caravan with a little star on it, that celebrities approach him and want to kiss him... When it comes to getting into the water, he is one of the best surfers and competitors in history.

His talent in small and medium waves is unquestionable, as is his ability to compete in them. Beating Medina is one of the most difficult things in competitive surfing.

At 27 years old and in a surfing world where the Slaters are still fighting at 49, this Brazilian has a long way to go. He can, if he wants to, equal or surpass the best in history, or surpass Mark Richards, for example. The big question is: Will he want to do it?