In one click of the shutter button, a sports photo is taken that will forever bottle a moment or time in history. Some maintain a nostalgic link between a sports fan and their childhood idol, others are of a moment the sweet taste of victory ended years of heartbreak, others tell the story of a controversy forever woven into the fabric of the sport and some offer an eye into an era.
Athletes forced to get creative
The latter is exactly what a snap of Tokyo-bound Olympic canoeist Jess Fox does, one of Getty Images' top-10 photos in Australian sport of 2020, taken by Ryan Pierse. When COVID-19 forced Sydney into lockdown in March, Fox was among the thousands of top-level Australian sportspeople whose training programs were thrown into turmoil.
Instead of preparing for her third Olympic Games at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, the dual Olympic medallist was shut out of the state-of-the-art venue and constricted to training in her backyard. Her pool is just seven metres in length and 3.5 metres in width, but the 26-year-old had no choice but to accept that was her new normal.
At the same time, Australian Paralympic swimmer Col Pearse swam laps of his parents' dam in country Victoria, and the Newcastle Knights' Hymel Hunt ran up and down the stairs at his house with his dog Archie.
Chief Getty photographer Cameron Spencer gave a fascinating insight into the challenges that faced Fox and other sportspeople when in lockdown.
"We were able to do some feature sessions with athletes at their homes, such as when they were training in backyard pools. You saw the photo of Jess Fox training in her pool. Athletes needed to adapt to that sort of thing, and I think it was important that we captured that," Spencer told Wide World of Sports.
"Spending time with a few of the different rowers as well – a lot of these guys were on their ERG machines or sitting in their garage doing weights, which is so different to being out on the water. Then finally, as restrictions eased a little bit, some of the national canoeists were told you can go out on the water and start training, but you can't train in a group, so next thing you know they're all training by themselves.
"They weren't even allowed to have a coach with them, so they literally had to go out with a plan that had been given to them and work out and train by themselves.
"It is surreal. It's obviously pretty exciting working with an athlete, particularly when you're doing feature work one on one. But this year we've had to keep our distance, in a lot of the shoots we were wearing PPE, so we had masks and gloves on, and we'd rarely do stuff indoors.
"It's usually out in a backyard and down at the local field, but a lot of the athletes were prepared to do that because they wanted to tell their stories and gave us the access, which was great."
Sport returns … with an echo
Major sport eventually returned to TV sets all over Australia, but no fans were at the games to watch. Matt King's image of ANZ Stadium – a venue which for more than 20 years had rattled to the core as upward of 80,000 fanatics poured in for State of Origin matches and NRL grand finals – will forever encapsulate the ghostly reality.
King's image was taken at the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' round-two clash with the North Queensland Cowboys, the first top-level Sydney rugby league match in 112 years played with no crowd. From the moment ARLC chairman Peter V'landys got footy back in play on May 28, his next mission was to haul fans off the couch and into the grandstand.
The impact of COVID-19 tore through Australian sport in 2020, wiping out crowds, bringing sport to a crashing halt, leaving millions of high-performance and administration staff without jobs and ripping an unprecedented amount of dollars from the industry.
But the monstrous force the pandemic has proven to be hasn't silenced the triumphs of Australian sportswomen, who've continued to inspire generations of future sports heroes.
Van Egmond pearler saves Matildas at death
When Emily van Egmond blasted a 20-metre thunderbolt into the top-left corner on February 13, it drew Australia level with China in injury time of their Olympic qualifying clash. It meant the Matildas had topped group B and were then set to face Vietnam instead of the much more powerful South Korea. The eyes of Egmond and her teammates lit up as the ball rocketed toward the top-left corner, and when it hit the back of the net mayhem erupted, setting the scene for a tremendous Mark Evans image.
One glorious MCG party
There was again a feeling of elation around women's sport when Australia wrapped up their first T20 Women's World Cup title on home soil on March 8. More than 86,000 people swarmed to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for Australia's clash with India, and what they attended was one epic party. Openers Alyssa Healy (75 off 39) and Beth Mooney (78 off 54) flayed the Indians right around the wagon wheel, and the bowlers, spearheaded by Megan Schutt (4-18) and Jess Jonassen (3-20), rounded out the masterclass. And when every one of Australia's 12 cricket heroes – even champion all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who hadn't played in the final because of a hamstring injury – joined superstar American singer Katy Perry on the stage as she belted out her greatest hits, it was a celebration of the boom of female sport in Australia.
Getty's photo of the on-stage party, taken by Spencer, captured the breathtaking moment perfectly.
"I think it was a surprise because no one expected the Aussie girls to get up on stage with her," Spencer said.
"She embraced them, and they were all singing and dancing and it was like a party. It was pretty cool to witness, and it's a great photo when you look at how much fun everyone is having. These are world champions going nuts on stage, so it was pretty awesome to capture.
"That event, and particularly that day, was all about empowering women. The whole thing was about them. Katy Perry was three months pregnant and glowing and looked amazing on stage, and she had this big smile and a little bump going on. It was just really cool to be a part of and see this seismic shift."
Women's World Cup set for Australian shores
The celebrations were again in full swing when FIFA, via a live stream from its Zurich headquarters, announced a tick before 2am on June 25 Australia and New Zealand would co-host the 2023 Women's World Cup. Getty photographer Jenny Evans documented the emotions of the night through a series of images – the excitement, anxiety and eventual moment of euphoria – and the photo of the climax paints a spectacular picture. The fact Matildas players and a host of Football Australia officials had both packed into a room at the governing body's headquarters showed everyone was living and breathing the bid, and the emotion pouring out of star defender Steph Catley as she leaps out of her chair is the stuff of an Australian girl's dream.
"It's unbelievable that Australia did win that and that we've got the world's biggest sport coming to our shores," Spencer said.
"It's such a good time for sport in Australia, and women's sport in particular, which is now getting a lot more profile in mainstream media. That announcement happened at about 2am, so they had all been there for ages. The funny thing is everyone had been told to sit in their socially distant seats, but next thing you know, when the announcement was made you couldn't hide that emotion."
Superstar Serbian beams off the blue
More than six months later, as Tennis Australia scrambles to ensure the 2021 Australian Open runs smoothly in the face of the pandemic, it feels like an age ago Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin took out this year's titles.
On Djokovic's campaign trail to defeating Dominic Thiem for his eighth Australian Open title, Spencer captured a brilliant image of the world number one in his third-round victory over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.
"We're so lucky every year to have one of just four grand slams in Melbourne, and people love coming to Melbourne to watch the Australian Open," Spencer said.
"For us as photographers, we're so lucky with the access we get. We get to go up in catwalks and in the roof and we're pretty close to athletes on the court as well. It's the peak of our summer too.
"January in Melbourne is so hot, and you get that amazing blue court with the deep shadows because it's so harsh because of the light, and the temperatures on centre court are so hot as well.
"Novak is also such a superstar and so athletic on the court, so I guess when you see him play a shot like that, where he's so elevated, you get this incredible shadow."
As Djokovic strengthened his status as the king of the Australian Open – he's two titles ahead of Swiss maestro Roger Federer and Australian great Roy Emerson, who both sit on six – two dominant forces continued to reign on the footy fields.
Modern-day powerhouses roll on
Richmond staged a gallant second-half comeback in the AFL grand final on their way to a 31-point defeat of Geelong, which saw them bag their third premiership in four years. That's enough to label Richmond's dominance a dynasty, thus lifting the Tigers into the rarefied air of modern-day juggernauts Brisbane (three flags across 2001-03), Geelong (three premierships across 2007-11) and Hawthorn (three flags across 2013-15).
Dustin Martin was again the star of the show as the Tigers ran rampant in the historic Gabba decider, booting four goals, including two in a decisive final term, en route to winning a record three North Smith medals. The fact he's pushed clear of two-time North Smith medallists Gary Ayres, Andrew McCleod and Luke Hodge says a lot about the heights he's reached.
A day after the Tigers' outclassing of the Cats, the Melbourne Storm staved off a fast-finishing Penrith Panthers outfit to hold up the Provan-Summons trophy for the second time in four years. That in itself doesn't put the Storm in the same league as AFL premiers the Tigers, but their excellence extends well beyond the last four years.
The only year in which the Storm didn't qualify for the finals between 2003, when Craig Bellamy took control, and 2020, was when the NRL in 2010 stripped Melbourne of their premiership points for breaching the salary cap. On top of that phenomenal 17-year run, the Storm have qualified for four of the last five grand finals. Ageless skipper Cameron Smith was again a central figure on the biggest stage of all this year, steering Melbourne around the park in his 430th, and potentially final, NRL game.
Many pundits backed the champion hooker to take home his first Clive Churchill Medal, and although electric fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen would sweep it up, there are few other accolades or records in rugby league that don't belong to Smith.
When prompted on his thoughts of two images of Richmond (Michael Wilson) and Melbourne (Mark Kolbe) soaking up their premiership victories – one of Martin and Noah Balta standing on the Gabba fence with the premiership cup, and the other of Smith holding the Provan-Summons trophy aloft among his teammates on the dais – Spencer raved about the two clubs.
"It's unbelievable. You talk about sport and history and you look back on this era where Melbourne Storm have in recent times been in so many grand finals and have won a handful of premierships," Spencer said.
"And obviously the Tigers with their three recent premiership victories is unbelievable too. Cam Smith is such a conductor of that side and the way he coordinates on the field shows how good he is.
"And Dusty too – in the grand final this year he went to another gear in terms of how he played. Witnessing superstars is what draws crowds to sport – and Dusty is like the Michael Jordan of the AFL.
"Everyone is waiting on the edges of their seats for what he's going to do next, and when he slotted one of those goals from nowhere in the final quarter, you just go, 'How is that even possible?' He's literally off balance and has held the ball for one-and-a-half seconds, but then kicks it through all these defenders. It's pretty cool and you just hope you're able to capture that."
Footy gods open floodgates
For a completely different reason, Getty deemed an image of a match between the Cronulla Sharks and Parramatta Eels worthy of a place in the top 10.
Spencer braced torrential conditions on the first Sunday of August as the Eels pulled off a thrilling 14-12 win at Jubilee Oval, and he left the venue with a magnificent image of star Parramatta half-back Mitchell Moses booting the ball as rain drenched the pitch.
"You look at Allianz Stadium and ANZ Stadium – both of those venues have unbelievable groundskeepers and drainage, so when it does rain the water is dissipated pretty well," Spencer said.
"But that Sharks-Eels match was down at Jubilee Oval in Kogarah, and it was torrential and there was a big southerly front that came through. As the players and us photographers, you've got no choice but to go out in it and do your thing. We were head to toe in wet-weather gear and I still think back to big puddles of water on the pitch. We were all incredibly wet.
"The other thing is rain brings an extra element. If the rain wasn't in the picture and it was just a guy kicking the ball, it's way less exciting, so the rain brings that extra dimension to the picture."
Warner at his peak
It was on a much more tranquil Sydney day that superstar opening batsman David Warner continued his phenomenal run of form in the 2019-20 Australian summer. The New South Welshman had already plundered 154 against Pakistan at the Gabba, as well as the first-ever Test triple-century at Adelaide Oval, a knock of 335 not out against the same visitors. He then rounded out the summer with an unbeaten knock of 111 against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground and celebrated in trademark David Warner style, leaping high in the air – bat in his left hand, helmet in the other – and pumping his fist in triumph.
An adoring sea of fans watching on from the iconic, heritage-listed Members Pavilion in the background added a priceless touch, as did the decision of Pierse – the master behind the lens – to make the image black and white.
"When you're capturing sport as a photographer your aim is to capture the defining moment, whether that's the peak of jubilation or the defining moment where it's a mark or a catch," Spencer said.
"People always talk about moments in the game and particularly the big games. David Warner has his trademark jump. He was in such incredible form in the last Australian summer, and to capture the moment that he celebrated yet another century was really important.
"Then you consider the fact it's not a tight shot but a wide shot, which gives it a better sense of atmosphere because it captures the Members Pavilion and the SCG crowd.
"It also really tells a story and has a real nostalgia about it, particularly when you make it black and white. It stamps it like it's a moment in time, and we'll always look back and go, 'Man, he was awesome when he was on fire at the SCG'."
Spencer left his last words for the host of sporting bodies that, in coordination with local, state and federal governments, proved the impossible was possible.
"It meant we were able to do our job," he said.
And a stellar job it was.
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