Gallery: Two Irish photographers nominated for World Athletics Photograph of the Year
Brazil’s Lucas Mazzo, with a Brazilian flag emblazoned contact lens, cools down during the men’s 20km race walk at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Morgan Treacy, INPHO
Two Irish photographers have been shortlisted for the World Athletics Photograph of the Year.
Among the 25 images to be nominated, which feature in the gallery below, were those by Morgan Treacy of Inpho and Clodagh Kilcoyne of Reuters.
“Thanks chiefly to the exploits of the likes of Rob Heffernan, I’ve plenty of experience of covering racewalking over the years and that means you know your shots in advance.
“Our first priority is to get your bankers - the photographs of the Irish competitors in action - and after that, you are looking for something different or interesting.
“The water shots are readymade to get something that can be classed as different or interesting, so I set myself up near one of the water stations and just started shooting at random competitors.
“I was doing it quite tight with a long lens and getting about 4-5 shots per splash. To be honest it was only when I looked back and zoomed in that I noticed something different about the shot of Lucas Mazzo.
“I realised then that I had something special so I waited at that same spot until he came around again and zoomed in tighter to get a clear shot of his eye and that incredible contact lens. I was going: ‘Oh my God, look at his eye’.
“It was so clear - it actually looked as if the lens was photoshopped on afterwards.
“I was delighted with it. It is a great shot. I put it on Twitter afterwards and it got a bit of traction but it didn’t get much pick-up in the papers back at home which wasn’t a surprise given everything going on in the Olympics on a given day. Now if we had an Irish competitor with a tricolour lens…”
“It was my first day covering athletics at the Tokyo Olympics and the triple jump was my first event. It all went down to the wire before Pedro Pichardo claimed the gold in a dramatic final.
“I was shooting from the moat at the centre of the arena but it was extremely tough to get a clear shot of those immediate celebrations as there is just so much going on between us and the athlete. As he continued his celebrations I followed him down the track where he got hold of the Portuguese flag. I was still in the moat but at that stage there I had a clean line of sight on him. What happened next was just the perfect storm of circumstances.
“He had been facing the other way but turned around towards me and looked straight down the barrel of the lens. As he did, a gust of wind lifted the flag around him like a cape.
“Everything just fell into place - the flag is perfectly symmetrical, the expression on his face, the lighting behind him. It was almost as if he was on a catwalk.”
Neeraj Chopra of India competes in the men's javelin throw final during the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Christian Bruna, European Pressphoto Agency B.V.
Athletes' reflection on the track. The heptathlon at the 14th Chinese National Games, won by Ninali Zheng. Photo by Yujia Dou, Track & Field Camp
Joy. Athletes celebrate at the World Athletics Relays in Silesia. Photo by Michal Dubiel, 400mm.pl
Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins the gold medal in the men's 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Naoki Enokido
An athlete competes in the classic pentathlon at the Czech Republic Veterans Championships. Photo by Eduard Erben, CPA
Decathletes celebrate together following their competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Richard Heathcote, Getty Images
Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo celebrates his win in the men’s triple jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne, Reuters
The Hunger (athletics) Games. Pole vaulter Malen Ruiz De Azua competes at the European Athletics Team Championships Super League in Silesia. Photo by Sergio Mateo Maria, Sportmedia
Brazil’s Lucas Mazzo, with a Brazilian flag emblazoned contact lens, cools down during the men’s 20km race walk at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Morgan Treacy, INPHO
Yulimar Rojas from Venezuela reacts after her last attempt during the final of the women’s triple jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games. With a jump of 15.67m from her final attempt, she breaks the Olympic and world record. Photo by Oscar Munoz Badilla, freelance / fotografiadeportiva
USA’s Tara Davis jumps at the Tokyo Olympic Games, with her hair falling into the sand pit. Photo by Felix Sanchez Arrazola, Fotorunners
Jorge Urena of Spain competes in the decathlon high jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Patrick Smith, Getty Images
Yanique Thompson of Jamaica pulls up as Christina Clemons of USA and Tobi Amusan of Nigeria leap in the women’s 100m hurdles semifinal at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Michael Steele, Getty Images
Kaede Maegawa of Japan competes in the women’s long jump T42 final during the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Photo by Joel Marklund, OIS (Olympic Information Service)
Ntando Mahlangu of South Africa competes in the men’s long jump T63 final at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos, Getty Images
A pole vault competitor is reflected in a puddle at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium. Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni, Delegacion de la Agencia Efe en la Republica Argentina
USA's Raven Saunders reacts as she competes in the women's shot put final during the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Ben Stansall, AFP
The Poland team celebrates after winning mixed 4x400m gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo by Aleksandra Szmigiel, Running Creatives / Reuters
Kyle Blignaut of South Africa in action during men's shot put qualification at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Photo by Dylan Martinez, Reuters
Viktoriya Tkachuk of Ukraine competes in the women’s 400m hurdles semifinals at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Vegard Grott, Bildbyran
Rachel McCoy of the United States competes in the women's high jump qualification at the Tokyo Olympic Games while her fellow competitors shelter from the sun. Photo by Ryan Pierse, Getty Images
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis competes in the men's pole vault final at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo by Matthias Hangst, Getty Images
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