The surfing semifinals at the 2024 Olympic Games had a surprise guest!

On August 5, when Brazilian athlete Tatiana Weston-Webb and Costa Rican athlete Brisa Hennessy participated in a women’s semifinal surfing competition on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, a whale breached in the distance, offering an ideal photo opportunity.

According to the Associated Press and CBS News, whales cluster near the islands during mating, birthing, and migration seasons. Tahiti also hosts the Paris Games’ surfing competition. Tahiti also has many marine protected areas.

According to CBS and BBC Sport, the French Polynesian island, which is around 10,000 kilometers from Paris, was picked for its famed Teahupo’o wave.

Frenchman Kauli Vaast, who was born on the island, won gold in the men’s Olympic surfing competition. Caroline Marks, a Team USA standout, won gold in the women’s tournament on August 6, defeating Brazil’s Weston-Webb, 28, who placed second.

The whale breach comes after another eye-catching incident at the Paris Games surfing competition.

On July 29, photographer Jerome Brouillet of Agence France-Presse obtained a shot of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina appearing to float in mid-air, which quickly went viral.

In the photo, Medina, 30, raised his palm in the air and pointed to the sky while his surfboard lingered behind him, still linked to his ankle.

Medina, who scored a record 9.90 in the third round of the surfing competition, placed third behind Vaast, 22, and Australia’s Jack Robinson.

The shot has received over 9 million likes on Medina’s Instagram alone. Photographer Brouillet wrote on Instagram that “Gabriel was in the water at the right place, at the right time, and so was I,” adding that his phone “hasn’t stopped beeping.”