Elsa / Getty
The spirit of mutual support and sportsmanship can be found throughout the Olympic Games, as evidenced so well in this photo from Bercy Arena today. On the podium, both silver medalist Simone Biles and bronze medalist Jordan Chiles of Team USA playfully bow down to the gold-medal winner, Team Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, as she celebrates her win in the women’s floor exercise.
Amanda Perobelli / Reuters
At the start of the women’s artistic-gymnastics uneven-bars final, the 16-year-old gymnast Zhang Yihan of Team China fell during her performance. Unable to fully grasp the high bar during a tricky move, she dropped face-down toward the mats. A coach, who had been standing close for just such a possibility, reached out quickly and was able to help slow her fall. She recovered quickly and finished the routine.
Jack Guez / AFP / Getty
The Olympic judo mixed-team final between France and Japan had come down to a tie, 3–3, at the end of the regulation bouts, when the random spin of a wheel was used to decide which gender and weight class would face each other in a tie-breaker: “men’s +90kg.” France’s Teddy Riner faced off against Japan’s Tatsuru Saito, with Riner winning the bout—and a team gold medal—before a wildly cheering home crowd.
Molly Darlington / Reuters
The sport of Kayak Cross makes its Olympic debut in Paris this year. At the beginning of a run, four kayakers drop about 15 feet from a ramp into the water below, then begin paddling as fast as they can down a white-water obstacle course, battling one another along the way. Here, Amir Rezanejad Hassanjani, originally from Iran and now part of the Refugee Olympic Team, drops in at the start of his time-trial run in Vaires-sur-Marne, France.
Mohd Rasfan / AFP / Getty
In the split-second after taking a huge punch to the face, Canada’s Wyatt Sanford was photographed during a match against Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev in the men’s 63.5-kilogram quarterfinal boxing event at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte.
Oli Scarff / AFP / Getty
Every time a new Olympic Games takes place, photojournalists endeavor to cover the action in novel and compelling ways—not only taking advantage of new technology, but also using their professional eye to discover new angles or framing. AFP photographer Oli Scarff placed an underwater camera in just the right position to capture close views of swimmers as they pass by above.
Jamie Squire / Getty
It is an incredible moment when the support of a world-class team pays off and everyone can celebrate their moment of victory. This amazing shot captures the reactions of the gymnast Simone Biles and her teammates in the background, as Biles finishes her floor-exercise routine and they realize that Team USA will win the artistic-gymnastics women’s team final. Photographed on day four of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, at Bercy Arena.
Ben Thouard /AFP / Getty
Nearly 10,000 miles away from the Games in Paris, the 2024 Olympic surfing events are taking place in Teahupo’o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, where 48 surfers from 21 nations are competing in the men’s and women’s shortboard events. I’ve always loved surf photography—the incredible power and beauty of nature, combined with the daring, skill, and grace of the riders.
Buda Mendes / Getty
One of the best parts about the Olympics can be the creativity and variety found in the arenas and courses. For the 2024 equestrian cross-country course, designer Pierre Le Goupil took inspiration from the features and grounds of the Palace of Versailles, creating 28 decorative obstacles—including this fence shaped like a stag’s head, with antlers reaching up more than 23 feet (7 meters) on either side.
Buda Mendes / Getty
One of the best parts about the Olympics can be the creativity and variety found in the arenas and courses. For the 2024 equestrian cross-country course, designer Pierre Le Goupil took inspiration from the features and grounds of the Palace of Versailles, creating 28 decorative obstacles—including this fence shaped like a stag’s head, with antlers reaching up more than 23 feet (7 meters) on either side.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
Fencers can be very demonstrative during matches, and the impact of participating in the Olympics seems to intensity the many reactions of all competitors. Today’s photos from Paris, on day one of the Games, captured so many faces full of raw emotion, and I felt that this was a fantastic representative image of the moment.
François-Xavier Marit / AFP / Getty
Following the Parade of Nations on the Seine River, athletes and spectators watch as lasers light up the sky around the Eiffel Tower, at the Trocadero venue, during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024.
The end of Oktoberfest in Germany, cranberry harvesting in Ontario, drought-affected regions in Indonesia and Brazil, scenes from the Asian Games in China, the end of sheep grazing season in Poland, migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, and much more
Ballet in an empty Syrian market, a forest fire in California, releasing turtles in Israel, a briefing by the Easter Bunny in the White House, riots in Northern Ireland, a giant sand dune in France, a wheat harvest in India, sunny weather in New York City, and much more.
Here’s a collection of some of the sights and events taking place in and around Boston from 1970 to 1979. Below, images of the blizzard of 1978, a victory parade for the Bruins after they won the 1970 Stanley Cup, enforcement and opposition to school segregation by busing, a Celtics game in Boston Garden, urban renewals and restorations, a St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston, anti-war protests, charm-school lessons, and much more.
Spring started about two weeks ago, and the Northern Hemisphere has begun to warm, with flowers and trees in bloom. Gathered here today, a small collection of images from the past few weeks from North America, Asia, and Europe, of tulips, sunshine, and cherry blossoms—surely signs of warmer days to come.
A theme park reopening in California, Holi celebrations in India, flooding in Australia, whale watching in Mexico, protests in Turkey, a masked rock concert in Barcelona, a snowy Opening Day in Detroit, China Fashion Week in Beijing, tulip fields in Italy, and much more.
Nearly two weeks since its initial eruption, the Fagradalsfjall volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula continues to be active. The gentle nature of the lava flows so far and the volcano’s proximity to the city of Reykjavik have allowed many hikers to make the trip to the site and witness the event up close. Here, a handful of recent images of visitors to Iceland’s newest volcano.
As of today, more than 565 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world, at a rate of about 14 million doses a day. Shots are being given at mass-vaccination sites, hospitals, small clinics, and in people’s homes, as governments and organizations work to reach everyone currently eligible. The work has only just begun, though; despite encouraging early numbers, only 4 percent of the global population has received at least one dose so far.
Cherry blossoms in London, lava flowing in Iceland, Nowruz celebrations in Iraq, spring training in Florida, a COVID-19 memorial in Prague, a “rally against hate” in New York, record flooding in Australia, a stuck ship in the Suez Canal, and much more.
Days of extreme rainfall have swamped large areas of Australia, especially in the state of New South Wales. Hundreds of people have been rescued, tens of thousands have been evacuated, and at least two deaths have been reported so far. As the weather system begins to move away, recovery efforts are now starting in some of the dozens of communities that were declared disaster zones. Collected below are images of the widespread damage caused by this once-in-a-generation flooding event.
Eloisa Lopez, a staff photographer with Reuters, recently spent time with researchers who call themselves the “virus hunters,” as they caught and studied bats in the Philippines. They set up wide nets near roosts, then carefully untangle any trapped bats and measure and swab them, before returning them to the wild.
After several weeks of earthquakes, an eruption began about 25 miles from Reykjavik, Iceland, as Fagradalsfjall volcano began spewing lava into a small valley on March 19. Collected below, some early images from the event.
Stunt riding in Iraq, downhill skiing in Switzerland, a giant stuffed penguin in New York, drones over Dublin, a huge sand portrait in England, an unfinished border wall in Texas, green slime in California, a green river in Chicago, and much more.
Last month, Myanmar’s military leaders seized power from elected officials, shortly after an election they viewed unfavorably. In recent weeks, protests against the coup have expanded nationwide, and the police crackdown on demonstrations has escalated. The United Nations estimates that more than 75 people have been killed so far, as security forces fire tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at demonstrators.
Earlier this morning, Dallas Seavey and his team crossed the finish line near Willow, Alaska, to win the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, claiming his fifth title. Seavey is now tied with Rick Swenson, the only other musher to have won five titles. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the race took place on a modified 832-mile course called the Gold Trail Loop, staying in the wilderness, avoiding villages, and forgoing the normal ceremonial start in Anchorage.
Rust on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, spring blossoms in China, International Women’s Day demonstrations in Mexico, a memorial for the 2011 earthquake in Japan, a moonrise over New York City, ski jumping in Germany, a sinkhole in Croatia, pet laser therapy in China, and much more.
Ten years ago, on March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern shore—the most powerful earthquake ever recorded to have hit Japan—generating enormous tsunami waves that spread across miles of shoreline, climbing as high as 130 feet. The powerful inundation of seawater tore apart coastal towns and villages, carrying ships inland as thousands of homes were flattened, then washed tons of debris and vehicles back out to sea.
The submissions to this year’s World Nature Photography Awards have been judged, and the winning images and photographers have just been announced. Thomas Vijayan was the Grand Prize winner, with his image of an orangutan climbing a tree. The contest organizers have shared with us some of the winning images, shown below, from their 13 categories. Captions were provided by the photographers and have been lightly edited for clarity.
Earlier this week, the photographer Maria Passer visited some of the ice-covered abandoned buildings of Vorkuta, a dwindling coal-mining city north of the Arctic Circle, in Russia’s Komi Republic. Temperatures in Vorkuta can drop as low as -58 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest winter months.