Charles Saldanha, Gabriel Medina’s stepfather and former coach, celebrated the surfer’s victory at the World Surf League event in Cloud 9, Philippines, and recalled how they began working together again. In a social media post, Saldanha thanked Medina for the invitation and praised his performance in the final.
Saldanha said the invitation came two months earlier, when Medina asked him to accompany him at upcoming stages of the world tour. He added that his daughter, Sophia, and wife, Simone, encouraged him to go. The reunion brought a runner-up finish in Portugal, followed by Medina’s title in the Philippines.
The three-time world champion beat Australia’s Jack Robinson to claim his first elite-level event victory since Margaret River in April 2023. The result also lifted him to second in the WSL rankings.
Saldanha had coached Medina during his 2014 and 2018 world title campaigns. The pair had been apart professionally for several years, though they grew closer again during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when Medina invited him to join the team for the competition in Teahupo’o, where he won bronze.
Their latest reunion did not change the team’s coaching structure: Adriano de Souza remained Medina’s head coach. The final event of the 2026 WSL season is scheduled to take place in Hawaii from December 8 to 20.
Sources: Globo Esporte.