Sharp Shooters: The Best Sports Photos of 2025 and the Stories Behind Them
The year 2025 brought a collection of striking sports photographs, each capturing unique moments of triumph, struggle, and celebration across various disciplines.
Chloe Kelly's jubilant Euro 2025 winning celebration was captured with a fast shutter speed of 1/200s at f/2.8 and ISO 2500, focusing on her interaction with teammates. In athletics, Geordie Beamish’s dramatic steeplechase fall was shot at 1/3200s with a 400mm lens, f/2.8 and ISO 2000; Beamish still placed second in his heat and eventually won gold.
An emotionally charged Ashes image showed Ben Stokes's deflated body language, taken on a 600mm lens at 1/3200s, f/4, ISO 600, accompanied by a sign in the background that reflected the England camp's mood.
In motorsport, a long-exposure pan shot of Lando Norris at Imola by photographer Jakub Porzycki captured passing Formula One cars with the Ayrton Senna memorial, using a 15-35mm lens at 1/10s, f/22, ISO 100.
A vibrant scene in Trafalgar Square featured Sunderland fans on their playoff-final pilgrimage, photographed with a 16mm lens at 1/4000s, f/4, ISO 400; red smoke flares and a sunset behind the National Gallery set the mood before Sunderland won the final.
At the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Jean-David Duval's high dive was documented from within the pool itself using underwater housing with a 16mm lens at 1/1600s, f/22, ISO 800, after four hours spent in the water.
Creative photographic techniques were showcased in Ryan Pierse's "Red Rose," a double-exposure merging the Red Rose logo with rugby player Ellie Kildunne through an in-camera sequential method.
Rachel Bach produced an intricate composite image of tennis player Alcaraz at Rod Laver Arena by stitching more than 1,500 images, shot handheld with a 70-200mm lens at 1/5000s, f/4, ISO 640, a necessity due to triggering restrictions.
Finally, Morgan Harlow’s intimate capture of the Women’s Rugby World Cup final celebrations included Zoe Aldcroft’s trophy moment and Hannah Botterman’s knee slide, photographed with a 35mm lens at 1/250s, f/1.8, ISO 10,000, from exclusive access to changing rooms.
Together, these photographs represent compelling visual narratives that defined sports in 2025.
