In the past year, a staggering collection of more than half a million sports photographs have been submitted to editors, each vying to capture a fleeting moment of triumph, despair, or sheer athletic beauty. From the mud-splattered finish lines of cyclocross to the dizzying heights of a pole vault world record, the images that stood out did so through a combination of technical skill, creative vision, and being in exactly the right place at the right time.
We spoke to the photographers behind some of the most compelling shots of 2025 to learn the stories, the split-second decisions, and the technical wizardry that brought these iconic moments to life.
Moments of Pure Emotion
Some of the most powerful images are those that capture raw, unfiltered emotion. For photographer Florencia Tan Jun, the pressure of a penalty shootout in a final is a unique challenge. "I get nervous," she admits, describing the scene as England's Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot-kick. Anticipating Kelly's celebration direction, Tan Jun had to refocus instantly as the player crossed the frame, resulting in a historic shot of "happiness at 100km/h."
That connection between athlete and fan was also perfectly encapsulated by Maddie Meyer at the Ryder Cup. As Rory McIlroy ran to embrace European supporters after a victory on American soil, Meyer captured a rare moment where the barrier between star and spectator dissolved. "He appeared to fully give in to the moment," she recalls, highlighting the challenge of composing a coherent image from such chaotic joy.
In the changing rooms after England's Women's Rugby World Cup final win, photographer Morgan Harlow had exclusive access to the champagne-soaked celebrations. Sensing a pivotal moment, she repositioned herself just in time to capture Hannah Botterman's triumphant knee slide through the bubbly, a private victory made public.
The Art of Technical Innovation
Beyond capturing emotion, many of 2025's standout images required meticulous planning and technical experimentation. At the Imola Grand Prix, Jakub Porzycki used the time between mandatory shots to seek a creative frame. He turned his lens towards the Ayrton Senna memorial, using the flags and flowers as a foreground for a long exposure of a passing McLaren. "Freezing the motion of a fast-moving car with a slow shutter speed isn't easy," he notes, revealing the shot was one of many attempts. The car was driven by Lando Norris, who would later clinch the 2025 F1 world championship.
Reuters photographer Marko Djurica went to extraordinary lengths for his shot of high diving in Singapore. For the first time, photographers were allowed a position inside the pool itself. Djurica spent nearly four hours in the water in a wetsuit, holding an underwater housing to capture Swiss diver Jean-David Duval's plunge from the 27-metre platform. An unplanned splash on the dome created a unique effect he doubts he could ever replicate.
Other photographers pushed the boundaries of camera technology. Hannah McKay used a new, GoPro-sized remote camera placed behind the goal net to capture a stunning, intimate angle of a Premier League goal, with Aston Villa's goalkeeper Emi Martínez lying defeated just inches from the lens. Meanwhile, Rachel Bach created a remarkable composite image of tennis star Carlos Alcaraz by hand-holding her camera and stitching together over 1,500 frames to showcase his incredible court coverage.
Finding Beauty in Struggle and Setting
Sport is not just about victory; it's about resilience. This was movingly captured by Emilee Chinn in a steeplechase heat, where Geordie Beamish took a foot to the face in a tangle of legs and fell. The power of the image, Chinn explains, is amplified by the fact that "he got up, placed second in his heat, and went on to take the gold medal."
Similarly, Billy Ceusters' photo of a mud-caked Wout van Aert after a gruelling cyclocross race in Dendermonde embodies the "suffering, self-sacrifice and achieving your goals" that define the sport. The setting itself often becomes a character in the story. Lee Smith's wide-angle shot of Sunderland fans lighting red flares in Trafalgar Square's fountains, taken the day before their Championship play-off final win, is a testament to the cultural pilgrimage of football support.
From the graphic intensity of a black smoke bomb at the Parc des Princes to the serene, flash-lit silhouette of a surfer in a Munich wave pool, the year's best sports photography proves that with creativity, patience, and a little luck, the playing field is as much a canvas for the artist as it is an arena for the athlete.
