Advertisement

57 stunning photos from the Tokyo Olympics

57 stunning photos from the Tokyo Olympics
  • The Tokyo Olympics have come and gone.

  • Thanks to some of the world's best photographers, we got glorious shots of athletic feats, victory, defeat, agony, joy, and more.

  • There are too many great photos to include them all, but take a look at some of our favorites so far.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Unique perspectives from underwater during the women's 100-meter breaststroke.

An underwater shot shows the women's 100-meter breaststroke.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Fencing is almost theatrical.

Two fencers lunge at the Tokyo Olympics.
Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Pole vaulters, skyward

An upward view shows a pole vaulter with the sky in the background at the Olympics
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The women's 100-meter runners are ready.

Runners are lined up in a row for the women's 100-meter at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Underwater violence in water polo.

An underwater view of water polo players grappling at the Tokyo Olympics.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Pauline Schaefer-Betz of Team Germany demonstrates incredible concentration on the uneven bars.

Pauline Schaefer-Betz of Team Germany reaches for the uneven bars, upside down.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Japan's Mima Ito shows another form of concentration.

Japan's Mima Ito looks at the bar while serving in ping pong
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

There aren't spectators at these games, but some still stop to watch.

A bird perched on a railing at the Olympic triathlon.
Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance/Getty Images

China's rhythmic gymnastics team in-sync.

Chinese rhythmic gymnasts jump in the air in splits at the same time.
Cheng Min/Xinhua/Getty Images

A rainy night in Tokyo led to beautiful images on the track.

Silhouettes of track runners in the rain at the Tokyo Olympics.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Everything look more dramatic in the rain.

Britain's Jessica Turner sits on her hands and knees on the track in the rain at the Tokyo Olympics
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

China's Chen Yang hurls the discus through the wet conditions.

China's Chen Yang throws a discus in the rain at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Passion from the Netherlands' Dimeo van der Horst in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Netherlands' Dimeo van der Horst yells.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Zhang Changning of China isn't backing down.

Zhang Changning of China reacts during volleyball at the Tokyo Olympics
Ding Ting/Xinhua/Getty Images

Raven Saunders summoned the hulk in the shotput.

Raven Saunders wears a Hulk mask while shotputting at the Tokyo Olympics.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Pray for the members of Team Brazil trying to block Heejin Kim's spike for South Korea.

South Korea's Heejin Kim spikes during volleyball.
Toru Hanai/Getty Images

Brazil's Eduarda Santos Lisboa lays out.

Brazilian women's beach volleyball player lays out for the ball at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Coming to the surface.

A water bubble forms around a swimmer coming to the surface at the Tokyo Olympics.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Alberto Munarriz of Spain breaches for a shot during water polo.

Alberto Munarriz of Spain leaps from the water during water polo
Marcel ter Bals/BSR Agency/Getty Images

Stephanie Gilmore of Australia, carving up a wave.

A surfer rides a wave in the sun at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Artistic swimming can make you feel like you're seeing double.

Belarus' Vasilina Khandoshka and Belarus' Daria Kulagina compete in artistic swimming in the Tokyo Olympics.
Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images

How are gymnasts possible?

A gymnast bends in the air in front of the Olympic rings.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Simone Biles casually gazes at the four-inch wide balance beam.

Simone Biles flips on the balance beam.
Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images

Try not to get dizzy over the vault.

Adem Asil of Team Turkey flips over the vault in an overhead shot at the Tokyo Olympics
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Very few people ever strike this pose 32 feet above the water.

A diver in a handstand on the platform in the 10m diving event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ding Xu/Xinhua/Getty Images

Weightlifters are pretty unique, too.

French weightlifter competes during the Tokyo Olympics.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Does any other sport require such a unique combination of strength, flexibility, finesse, and timing as the pole vault?

Armand Duplantis of Sweden pushes off the pole at the pole vault in the Tokyo Olympics.
Li Ming/Xinhua/Getty Images

It's a long way down from the pole vault.

Maryna Kylypko of Team Ukraine yells while falling down in the pole vault.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Utter exhaustion at the end of the triathlon.

Bence Bicsak of Team Hungary lays on the ground after finishing the Olympic triathlon.
Adam Pretty/Getty Images

The triathlon is so brutal that it lays waste to some of the world's best athletes.

A triathlete pukes while others lay on the ground at the Tokyo Olympics.
Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot is the last man standing after the steeplechase.

Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot stands after the steeplechase while runners lay on the ground.
Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

Track cycling is uniform when there is order.

A blurred view of track cycling at the Tokyo Olympics
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

But it can also lead to carnage.

Riders are strewn on the track cycling course after a crash at the Tokyo Olympics.
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The joy of victory.

Egypt's Seif Eissa celebrates after winning bronze in taekwondo at the Tokyo Olympics.
Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images

The agony of defeat.

Two Danish swimmers comfort each other at the Tokyo Olympics.
Fred Lee/Getty Images

Mission accomplished.

Overhead shot of South Korean weightlifter yelling at the Tokyo Olympics
Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Much different reactions from Sweden and Canada in the women's gold medal match.

Sweden's women's soccer team looks on as Canada's team celebrates winning the gold medal
Li Ga/Xinhua/Getty Images

Hip hip, hooray!

French fencer tossed in air by coaches at the Olympics.
Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Celebrating or hiding?

Hatice Kubra İlgun of Team Turkey curls up under the Turkish flag after competing in taekwondo.
Maja Hitij/Getty Images

The moment Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi shared a gold medal.

Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi hold hands while sharing a joint gold medal in the high jump.
Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

These athletes never took their eye off the ball - literally and figuratively.

China's Fan Zhendong stares at a ping pong ball in the air at the Tokyo Olympics.
Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images

The cycling course offers some scenic views of Japan.

The Tokyo Olympics cycling race goes through Japanese mountains
Michael Steele/Getty Images

Don't try to stop France's Timothey NGuessan.

France's Timothey NGuessan competes in handball at the Tokyo Olympics.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

An opening loss had the star-studded U.S. men's basketball squad a bit puzzled.

Zach LaVine, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Gregg Popovich stand during a basketball game at the Tokyo Olympics.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Perhaps this basketball-playing robot could help Team USA.

A robot shoots a basketball at the Tokyo Olympics.
Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

Great Britain's Tom Daley and Matty Lee show the artistry of synchronized diving.

Great Britain's Tom Daley and Matty Lee flip during synchronized diving.
Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty Images

A battle is won in the women's 57kg judo competition.

Kosovo's Nora Gjakova stands over Japan's Tsukasa Yoshida in the judo women's -57kg semifinal
Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Mutual respect in badminton leads to a jersey swap.

Viktor Axelsen of Team Denmark and Chen Long of Team China swap jerseys in badminton.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Jordan's Odai Riyad Adel Alhindawi is feeling the pain.

A Jordan boxer takes a punch to the face in the Tokyo Olympics.
Luis Robayo/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

And Mathieu Van der Poel of the Netherlands is about to...

Mathieu Van der Poel falls off his bike over some rocks at the Tokyo Olympics.
Jasper Jacobs/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

Flying horse!

A horse jumps over bars at the Tokyo Olympics
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Many athletes train their whole lives for this moment.

The Russian Olympic Committee artistic gymnastics team celebrates winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Gregory Bull/AP Images

Skaters made their mark in their first Olympics.

A shadow of a skateboarder over the Tokyo 2020 logo.
Wally Skalij /Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

And they brought the good vibes...

Rayssa Leal of Team Brazil puts her hand to the face of Momiji Nishiya of Team Japan during the Tokyo Olympic street skating competition.
There's no animosity between Brazil's Rayssa Leal and Japan's Momiji Nishiya. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Golden hour archery.

American archer Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez aims at sunset during the Tokyo Olympics
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Tokyo brought a beautiful lights show to the closing ceremony. Six months until Beijing 2022!

A lights show during the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony.
Xia Yifang/Xinhua/Getty Images

Read the original article on Insider