As sports enthusiasts, we love great sport images, but we all have these moments where we need a little inspiration to push us further in our endeavors. Whether it’s to get back on the treadmill after a long hiatus, to take on a new challenge, or simply to remind us of the thrill of victory, the right sports images can provide the motivation we need to keep going.
In this article, we’ve gathered some of the best sport images captured by our team of photographers at Aflo Sport in the past few months. We chose these images not only because they are great, but also to allow our photographers to share the stories behind each shot. Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Noah Lyles at the IAAF World Championships Oregon 2022
The Story Behind the Shot
American track and field athlete Noah Lyles made history during the IAAF World Championships Oregon 2022. He won the gold medal in the men’s 200 meters, finishing with a time of 19.31 seconds, third fastest time in history behind Bolt’s world record of 19.19 and Yohan Blake’s 19.26. His victory at the championships solidified his status as one of the world’s top sprinters. Our photographer Yohei Osada was there to capture this amazing sport moment in his image. This is what he felt:
Lyles, the men’s 200m world champion, dramatically ripped his uniform. It wasn’t a simple onomatopoeic “rip” sound, but rather a loud, explosion-like impact. In that moment, it felt like something out of a comic book, anime, or professional wrestling match. I had never seen something like that before, and may never see it again. It surpassed people’s imagination. The World Athletics Championships were a festival of such superhuman athletes! – Yohei Osada
About the Photographer
Yohei Osada was born in Tokyo in 1986. He joined Aflo after graduating from Waseda University in 2009. After working as a studio assistant, he joined the Aflo Sports team in 2012 as a staff photographer. Osada has more than 10 years of experience shooting the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Soccer World Cup. He also loves shooting sports documentaries about wheelchair basketball and sport images overall.
WEB: https://www.afloimages.com/contributor/yoheiosada.html
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/yohei_osada.aflosport
Joshiro Maruyama vs Hifumi Abe at the World Judo Championships Tashkent 2022
The Story Behind the Shot
Joshiro Maruyama and Hifumi Abe competed against each other in a historical men’s final U66kg at the World Judo Championships in Tashkent. That was to be expected, as Abe is now the benchmark, and Maruyama is the only one who seems to know how to beat him. Maruyama’s mental strain was noticeable as he wanted to see how he could beat the Olympic champion. The crowd was delighted to see this match, and both players used their unique strengths. Abe prevailed in the end, scoring a “waza-ari” and winning the gold medal, becoming a three-time world champion. Our photographer Kenjiro Matsuo was there covering this clash of titans, and thinking about all the work the two athletes went through to be on the mat on that day, facing each other:
Is sport photojournalism only about capturing what happens in front of your lens? Maybe it is enough to react to what happens in front of you and take a picture of the performance or results of an event, but does that capture the path to that result? Without the day-to-day struggle, there would be no gold medals. – Kenjiro Matsuo
About the Photographer
Kenjiro Matsuo was born in Tokyo in 1985. He graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School of Design. His love for backcountry skiing and for climbing snowy mountains led him to specialize in ski photography early in his career. After joining the Aflo Sports photo team in 2014, he expanded the scope of his work to a wide variety of sports, news and commercial photography. He is now an expert in shooting sport images in a very creative way.
WEB: https://www.afloimages.com/contributor/kenjiromatsuo.html
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kenjiromatsuo.aflosport
Argentina wins the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
The Story Behind the Shot
Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, defeating France 3-3 (4-2 penalty) in an exciting final match. The first half saw Argentina take a 2-0 lead, with goals from Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi, who became the first player in World Cup history to score in all five rounds of a single tournament. In the second half, France rallied to tie the score with two goals from Kylian Mbappé, before Messi scored again for Argentina in extra time. Mbappé then scored his third goal, resulting in a tie-breaking shootout, which Argentina won after converting four of their penalties while France missed two. Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel all scored for Argentina, securing their victory. Our photographer (and really good soccer player!) Naoki Morita was in Qatar shooting this memorable match for us, and found himself in the middle of the celebrations after the end of the game, just inches away from the best players in the world. This is what he remembers of that moment:
I witnessed a scene that I had only dreamt of before. Pushed and jostled by the photographers behind me, I extended my arm as far as I could, trying to get the perfect shot. I didn’t even know if the focus was right, but I kept clicking the shutter relentlessly. And then, there he was – Messi, holding the World Cup trophy high above his head, smiling amidst the sea of fans. I had captured a moment that would go down in soccer history. It is my goal as a sport photographer to continue striving every day to capture more moments like this. – Naoki Morita
About the Photographer
Naoki Morita was born in Nara in 1993. He joined Aflo in 2014, after graduating from the Visual Arts College in Osaka. After working as a studio assistant for 4 years, he joined the Aflo Sports team in 2018 as a staff photographer. Morita aims to capture the emotions of the athletes and express their efforts, growth, and setbacks through his sport images.
WEB: https://www.afloimages.com/contributor/naokimorita.html
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/naoki_photography.aflosport
Street basketball: the 2022 3×3.EXE Premier Playoffs Final
The Story Behind the Shot
3×3 is a type of basketball game played on 3×3 courts that started in the streets and gained popularity among young people worldwide. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) established universal competition rules triggered by the decision to adopt the game in the 2007 Youth Olympic Games, and it became a recognized sport. It was evaluated as the “hottest ticket in town” during the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, and since then, FIBA has put more effort into developing it as a more global sport. In 2017, the IOC General Assembly decided to officially include “3×3” in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics 2020. The game has different names in different countries or regions, but with its official inclusion, “Three X Three” became the official name in Japan and is now adopted worldwide. Aflo Sport photographer Naoki Nishimura was in the middle of Tokyo last September, covering the Japanese playoffs for Afloimages. Here is how he experienced the event:
On September 19, I covered the “3×3.EXE PREMIER 2022 PLAYOFFS” held in Tokyo, the top professional league for 3-on-3 basketball in Japan. A basketball court had suddenly appeared in the middle of a complex commercial facility with offices, restaurants, and shops. On the court, top players engaged in speedy and intense actions. It was a surreal scene, where the geometrical and static urban space and the flexible and dynamic bodies of the players created a unique collaboration. I kept pressing the shutter in search of a shot that captured the essence of this unique experience. – Naoki Nishimura
About the Photographer
Naoki Nishimura was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1969. After graduating in Engineering at Osaka University, he started shooting sport images for fun while working for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. His desire to challenge himself in the professional world kept growing, and in 2016 he joined the Aflo Sports team. Currently, Nishimura energetically photographs sports in Japan and worldwide, and strives to create work that can be felt through all five senses.
WEB: https://www.afloimages.com/contributor/naokinishimura.html
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/naoki_nishimura.aflosport
Hire one of our photographers!
Enjoyed these great sport images? Are you working on a project involving sports photography? We can help! Our team of professional photographers from Aflo Sports is not only covering Japan’s major sport events, they are also constantly working on editorial and commercial projects for clients worldwide. Whether you need editorial coverage of a particular event in Japan, or high-end commercial photos and videos of real athletes and talents for your brand, our team can help you bring your vision to life.
For more information visit our custom shoots page and leave us a message: we’ll get back to you with a detailed quote in no time.
Want to see more?
If you love sport and want to keep up to date with the latest events from Japan, make sure to check our sport images in our latest coverage here and follow us on social media!
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