The most stunning photos across women's sports from the last month Winter Olympics, US Women's National Team, and more
- With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in full swing, the US Women's National Team hosting its annual domestic tournament at the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, and more, the last month has been busy in the world of women's sports.
- Insider spoke with 23 of Getty Images' sports photographers about how they captured some of the most stunning shots in women's sports during February.
- The photos below showcase winter sports like snowboarding, skiing, figure skating, biathlon, speedskating, and more, as well as key moments from the SheBelieves Cup and other competitions across the globe.
2/3: Team China's Huier Huang (left) and Aneta Tejralova Team Czech Republic reach for a puck in the air in the third period during the Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group B match at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Harry How:
Both hockey and speed skating are quick sports, but different in that one sport is very erratic and unpredictable while the other is very linear. The challenge for hockey, at least for me, is to get something different and away from the usual action as it's a sport I normally cover a great deal.
I don't usually use a wide-angle lens at the glass like I did here, but I was hoping to show the Olympic rings and the unusual occurred when the puck kicked up over the players heads and they both tried to play it with their hands.
2/3: Thea Minyan Bjoerseth of Team Norway prepares to jump during the Women's Normal Hill official Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Maddie Meyer:
I wanted to show the speed and grit of Olympic athletes with this photo. Here, Thea Minyan Bjoerseth of Team Norway prepared to jump during a training session. The use of shutter speed and lights makes it seem like the athlete is speeding through a tunnel.
2/3: Anri Kawamura of Team Japan competes during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Moguls Qualification during the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Patrick Smith:
Another sport I've never seen prior to this was freestyle skiing moguls. I decided to approach the sport with risk. That meant when the athletes passed and jumped off a second jump, I stayed on a very tight lens to get the emotion in their eyes.
While everyone wasn't shooting, I continued to try and better this image until I had an athlete with clear googles that allowed me to tell the story.
2/3: Nelly Korda hits from the 18th tee during the first round of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Fort Myers, Florida.
From the photographer, Douglas P. DeFelice:
As the end of the day was approaching, I was following the top-ranked golfers. I was attempting to capture something different from "the regular tee shot," and work with the light.
After studying the course for a few days, I realized the 18th tee would backlight my subjects, and observed a red-orange leaved bush along the side of the fairway. Positioning myself behind the bush, I was able to find a small opening between the branches where I can get a unobstructed view of my subject.
As Nelly approached to place her ball on the tee, I aligned myself so that she was in that opening, and that anyone in the background was not visible in the frame. I awaited her to approach the ball, pre-focused, and made this frame. The light reflecting off the leaves, combined with the shallow depth of field created this beautiful color surrounding Nelly.
2/3: Rebecca Johnston of Team Canada scores a goal against Swiss goalkeeper Andrea Braendli during the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Bruce Bennett:
On some days during the Olympics, one photographer would shoot games with the aid of up to six remote cameras. The remotes provide us with angles that sometimes cannot be duplicated with our bodies. We also added a few robotic cameras to the arsenal throughout the venues, which can be adjusted for different angles of coverage and can also be triggered from our office in the Main Media Center miles away, or by the photographers on location.
This here is an example of using camera technology to capture a high-peak action moment. These cameras require somewhat luck, so I was pleased to capture the puck flying by goalkeeper Andrea Braendli just before it went into the net.
2/5: Anais Chevalier-Bouchet of Team France skis during Mixed Biathlon 4x6km relay at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Ezra Shaw:
I had scouted the Biathlon course a few times, and I knew the sun started going down around 4:30pm and the course was completely in shade by around 5:15pm. This race started at 5:00pm, so I didn't have much time before the sun went down.
I wanted to get a shot of the 20 teams lined up at the start, and then immediately after that, I raced to a spot on the course where I knew there was a little light left and where the athletes would be coming up a hill.
I got there just in time as the sun was going behind the hill, and I was able to grab this shot of the backlit sun lighting up the athletes' breath as they raced up the hill in the beautiful evening light.
2/6: Team USA's women's hockey players huddle up ahead of their match against Team Switzerland during the group stage of the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Elsa Garrison:
In this photo, goaltender Alex Cavallini of Team USA is surrounded by her teammates before the game against Team Switzerland. Most teams, especially on the women's side, huddle around the net right before the start of the game.
In my opinion, Team USA does it the best. What I love about this is how tight the players are around Cavallini. To me it shows me how close-knit of a group this team is.
I shot a few other USA hockey games, and even though they did this before every game, somehow this was the tightest I have seen them huddle. This was two games after Brianna Decker was injured, and maybe it was their way of pulling together.
2/7: Nina O'Brien of Team USA crashes during the Women's Giant Slalom at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Julian Finney:
This was a terrible moment for Nina O'Brien of the United States, as she fell just short of
the finish line. Part of a three-photographer team for this race, I was positioned at the finish line waiting for the victorious skier to complete her second run for the Women's Giant Slalom.
Instead, I witnessed a terrible moment of despair, pain, and anguish for O'Brien and Team USA. This image encapsulates all the action, emotion, and beauty of winter sports, and the red backdrop and Beijing 2022 logo add to the composition of the photo as well. It's always devastating to see these moments happen to athletes, especially at an Olympics event, which only happens every four years.
2/7: Team Czech Republic huddles ahead of the Women's Preliminary Round Group B match at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Bruce Bennett:
The Olympic spirit and competitive desire of athletes and teams translate really well to photography and our game plan to capture the best moments. The huddles ahead of the games are usually visually pleasing, as you can see here in this image. The shape of the athletes, formation of stick and blue helmets really draws the viewer in.
2/8: Eileen Gu of Team China reacts after securing the gold medal during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Big Air Final at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Elsa Garrison:
For this event, I was working with two other photographers and my position was elevated and head on to the finish line. My primary job was to capture the emotion after each run.
Gu had a great third run, where she did a difficult trick and stuck the landing. It has got to be an amazing feeling when you pull off a feat like that, which you see in her own reaction here.
2/8: Rosie Brennan of Team USA competes during the Women's Cross-Country Sprint Free Qualification of the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Al Bello:
I scouted this position before the Cross-Country Sprint race. I needed a clean background with no obstructed view and at the same time needed a spot where the athletes were working hard so the picture would be more dramatic.
After searching in the woods for quite some time, I found this spot that was backlit and had a clean background of dark trees. It was also at the end of a climb so the athletes would be working hard as they made their turn into the next part of the course.
Being that this was a sprint, I would only have one chance to photograph them going by me. Luckily, I was successful as Brennan skied by with such power.
2/8: Gold medalist Jonna Sundling, silver medalist Maja Dahlqvist, and Emma Ribom — all of Team Sweden — embrace following the Women's Cross-Country Sprint Free Final of the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Matthias Hangst:
Pure emotion and celebration from Team Sweden in this photo after a dominant performance by Jonna Sundling of Sweden in the Women's Cross-Country Sprint Free Final. After qualifying with the fastest time, Sundling, the reigning world champion, carried that momentum to the finish line.
Sundling crushed the field to deliver Sweden's first cross-country medal of the Beijing Olympics, winning the race with a time of 3:09.68 and finishing 2.88 seconds ahead of teammate Maja Dahlqvist, who she is seen celebrating with. The image shows the juxtaposition between the joy and excitement of the Swedish teammates and dejection of the skier in the background.
2/8: Eileen Gu of Team China performs a trick during the Women's Freestyle Skiing Big Air Final at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Justin Setterfield:
This was one of the standout events in the Beijing zone as Big Air made its Olympic debut. Shougang's 64-meter high and 164-meter long ramp made for some spectacular aerials and seeing Eileen Gu of Team China flying through the air upside down on her way to a gold medal was always going to lend itself to some nice images like this one.
2/9: Lindsey Jacobellis of Team USA celebrates after winning the Women's Snowboard Cross Finals of the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Ezra Shaw:
It was great to be there when Lindsey Jacobellis crossed the finish line to win the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross. I was at the Olympics in 2006, when she infamously crashed on the last jump when she was way ahead of all her competitors.
By the time she recovered back then, someone had passed her, and she finished in second place. She had been one of the best athletes of all-time in snowboard cross but had never been able to win gold at the Olympics until this year. That's why I believe she was so happy as soon as she crossed the finish line.
2/10: Chloe Kim of Team USA performs a trick during the Women's Snowboard Halfpipe Final at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Al Bello:
This photo was taken from the edge of the Halfpipe, which they call the table or the lip. I had climbed up the halfpipe on a 45-degree angle with a set of crampons on my boots to ensure I would not slide down and potentially injure myself and others.
After getting on the table of the halfpipe, I kept an eye on where Chloe Kim performed her tricks in different parts of the halfpipe course during a practice run. She was the favorite to win this event, and I wanted to get her in peak action as she flew by me.
This spot that I settled on was good in a few ways. I was able to line up the sun as Kim flew by, and she would come out of her spins facing me so I could see her as she went by.
In this frame, the sun peeked behind her as she flew by me. It happened so fast I did not know if I got anything good until I checked the images afterwards. Luckily, this frame worked out for me.
2/10: Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands celebrates after winning the gold medal in a new Olympic record time of 6:43.51 during the Women's 5000m at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Dean Mouhtaropoulos:
There is just as much emotion during the Olympic Games as action, as you can see here, with the pure joy of Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands. It was a priceless moment after winning gold with a new Olympic record time of 6:43.51 during the Women's 5000m.
2/11: Sarah Schleper of Team Mexico reacts following her run during the Women's Super-G at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Alex Pantling:
This was a really special moment to capture. This was Sarah Schleper's sixth time competing at the Winter Olympics — four times for the United States and two times for Mexico. The Beijing Games made her the first female Alpine skier to compete in six Winter Olympics, an incredible feat as a seasoned veteran on the mountain.
Although she didn't place in Beijing, this is an incredible achievement.
2/12: Lara Gut-Behrami of Team Switzerland skis during the Women's Downhill Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Tom Pennington:
One of my favorite images from the Olympics was created while taking a different approach for the day. I decided to go search out a position off course where I could shoot through the trees that surround parts of the racecourse.
To find the best location, I skied the racecourse looking for an area that had the necessary terrain, right density of trees, and preferred lighting conditions. After some scouting and hiking around, I found an area where the ski racers would be in the correct body position needed.
For this image, I used a slow panning technique tracking the ski racers at 1/30th of a second to blur the trees while keeping the racer perfectly sharp in the frame. All of these elements combine to create a unique look that implies the high speeds the racers are reaching while on course.
2/13: Suzanne Schulting of Team Netherlands celebrates winning the gold medal and setting a new Olympic Record time of 4:03.40 during the Women's 3000m Relay Final A at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Matthew Stockman:
This image was filled with electricity as Suzanne Schulting of Team Netherlands celebrated winning the gold medal in a new Olympic Record time of 4:03.40 during the Women's 3000m Relay Final A.
It's always exciting to witness gold medals moments, but seeing athletes achieve new Olympic records and making history is truly special. Her emotions just pour out of her here, and as viewers we can feel it too.
2/13: Jasmine Baird of Canada performs a trick during a Snowboard Big Air training session at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Catherine Ivill:
The Big Air competition was amazing. I spent a long time trying to get a picture on one of the rare snowy days in Beijing when the athletes were training. I love this photo because it looks like the Team Canada's snowboarder Jasmine Baird is standing on the Games logo. The red in the logo and red uniform really pop here as well.
2/13: Sophie Conway of the Brisbane Lions celebrates after scoring a goal during an AFLW match against the St Kilda Saints in Melbourne, Australia.
From the photographer, Robert Cianflone:
The St Kilda Saints and the Brisbane Lions were fighting out a close battle in tough, blustery conditions with goals becoming hard to come by. Sophie Conway of the Lions had just kicked a goal in the last minutes of the game, and she turned and let out a mighty roar towards Brisbane fans who were sitting right behind me in the stands.
It's always good to capture an athlete as they let out their emotions, especially in the last moments of a game.
2/14: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team USA skis during the Women's Downhill Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Tom Pennington:
Another image I captured near the area of the racecourse was of Team USA's Mikaela Shiffrin launching off a blind bump in the course while navigating the course at speeds of over 70 mph. This was a new racecourse for all the athletes, so the racing line was not well known and established.
With the racing line being inconsistent each racer would come into our view in a different location and different racing position. For photographers, being ready for this required an immense amount of concentration in the extremely cold conditions. All of that concentration paid off when Shiffrin exploded off the blind jump and was captured against the deep blue sky.
2/14: American speed skater Erin Jackson cries before receiving her gold medal on the podium at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Dean Mouhtaropoulos:
Covering speedskating for the International Skating Union, I have photographed Team USA's Erin Jackson win the 500m in many races, so seeing her fall and not qualify for the Beijing Winter Olympics during the USA Trials was a shock. Brittany Bowe, her teammate and friend, give up her spot for Jackson, who until about six years ago, had never skated competitively on ice.
An accomplished in-line skater, Jackson is now an Olympic champion, and I think all of this built up to convey a lot of emotion and tears on the podium, as she heard the national anthem and crowd cheer for her.
2/14: Team China's Eileen Gu performs a trick during a Women's Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Training session at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Al Bello:
This was taken during training before competition. I wanted to get Eileen Gu in a good action position and work the sun, nice light, and blue sky into the photo. I had to climb the halfpipe with crampons because it is so steep. Without crampons you are likely to fall and hurt yourself.
I watched Gu do her routine a few times and figured out what I thought was best for a launch point and for her to fly over me. I got in position and waited for her to go. She flew over me several more times and photographed her using different lenses and changing angles.
In the end, it gave me a good idea of her routine for when I covered her gold medal win in the Finals a few days later.
2/14: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team USA skis during the Women's Downhill Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Sean M. Haffey:
I chose to capture the world's best skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, in a steep, tougher section of the downhill course. This section had elegant shadows to convey the intensity and beauty of the moment. Shiffrin moves with such grace and attack, so I wanted to showcase her talent on full display.
2/14: Isabella Wright of Team USA skis during the Women's Downhill Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Tom Pennington:
As photographers covering alpine skiing, we start the day off scouting the steep and icy racecourse by skiing it top to bottom, looking for the ideal contour of the terrain and taking into consideration how the racers will approach each section of the course. We are looking to mesh the very demanding parts of the course with clean backgrounds and nice lighting conditions.
One of these locations produced one of my favorite images, of Team USA's skier Isabella Wright. The image was captured as Wright set a hard edge around a gate above a treacherous 65-degree steep pitch. The dynamic position and the snow and ice, contrasted against the cobalt blue sky, helps convey the raw power the athletes have.
2/14: Tricia Mangan of Team USA skis during the Women's Downhill Training at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Tom Pennington:
This image of Tricia Mangan was shot on the upper section of the Downhill racecourse. This section of the course is fast and features a left turn that has a subtle "bump" in it. I was positioned two-thirds of the way down the steep pitch with a 600mm super-telephoto lens with a 1.4X teleconverter so that I had a good look at the hard turn, while shooting into a clear blue sky background.
The position where I was shooting from is totally "blind" meaning I can't see the racers until they explode off the bump and make the left turn. This requires intense concentration as the racers are reaching speeds of 80 mph and the exact area they come into view changes slightly depending on their approach to the race line.
Mangan came through this section extremely fast and launched. This image was captured midair in a sequence of images as Mangan was trying to recover. In the end, Mangan crashed on the landing and ended up sliding 100 yards before hitting the A-net that lines the side of the course. Fortunately, Mangan was not seriously injured and went on to compete in other Alpine speed events.
2/16: Kyra Cooney-Cross of the Melbourne Victory heads the ball over Mackenzie Hawkesby of Sydney FC during an A-League Women's match in Melbourne, Australia.
From the photographer, Robert Cianflone:
The rivalry between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC always seems to bring out the best in the players. Here, Kyra Cooney-Cross of the Victory shows great athleticism to leap over the shoulders of Mackenzie Hawkesby of Sydney FC.
2/17: Kamila Valieva of Team ROC reacts after suffering several falls during the Women's Figure Skating Free Skate final at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Catherine Ivill:
Throughout the Games, Kamila Valieva had dominated the headlines, and in her final skate in the Women's Free Skate, she went from leading the group to finishing fourth and out of the medals.
The pressure was there for all to see as she fell several times during her final skate, and this image captures the story of the past two weeks in Beijing.
2/17: Team Canada celebrates its gold medal victory over Team USA in the Women's Ice Hockey Gold Medal match at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Bruce Bennett:
I thoroughly enjoyed most of the women's hockey games and love the contrast to the way the men's games are played. Speed is key in both, and the men's games are played with, let's say, a touch more physicality while the women's with much more sportsmanship. But both share an equal desire to become Olympic champions.
Here, Team Canada celebrates its gold medal win against Team USA. Personality shines through here and couldn't have asked for a better way to capture the players' joy.
2/17: Kaori Sakamoto of Team Japan skates during the Women's Figure Skating Free Skate at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Matthew Stockman:
Kaori Sakamoto of Team Japan is a beautiful skater and she graced us with a stunning performance during the Women's Free Skate. She moved effortlessly across the ice, and I wanted to get a few up-close shots as she performed tricks.
This photo zeros in on her skill, ability and artistry as an athlete. Her vibrant, purple-blue costume also stood out, which helped bring this photo to life. Sakamoto became the first Japanese singles medalist since Mao Asada, taking home bronze for her country.
2/17: Trinity Rodman of USWNT controls the ball during a match against the Czech Republic as part of 2022 SheBelieves Cup in Carson, Calif.
From the photographer, Omar Vega:
Trinity Rodman made her debut as a professional soccer player on the United States National Team during the SheBelieves 2022 tournament. In this photo, Rodman made her first attacking play in an international match against the Czech Republic.
In this match, Rodman entered in the 60th minute and the game ended with a score of 0-0. Trinity is the youngest member of the team and the youngest to be selected in a National Women's Soccer League draft. She currently plays for the Washington Spirit and due to her talent, she is likely headed for a promising future. With her skill and dedication, it's expected that she could be the part of the next generation of stars like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
2/18: Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi of Team Germany slide during the 2-woman Bobsled heats at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Alex Pantling:
What I've loved about covering sliding events is that it's like nothing I have ever shot before, which for me has been a great opportunity to try new techniques and skillsets that I wouldn't usually do in other sports.
In addition to having dedicated photo positions in parts of the track like the start and finish, I found that there are also several creative opportunities in a venue like this one. Photographers were free to roam the area and look for new angles and shadows to get creative, like in this image of Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi of Team Germany.
2/19: Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of Team China react after skating during the Pairs Free Skate at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Elsa Garrison:
While these Olympic Games were unlike any other and I cherished this opportunity to witness and record history, most of my viewing of Beijing and the surrounding areas were by bus on my way to events. There were limited local fans and it was actually nice to hear cheering at the figure skating, as Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of Team China won gold in the Pairs event.
2/19: Bronze medal winners Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman of Team USA pose for a photo with their medals during the flower ceremony following the 2-woman Bobsled at Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Adam Pretty:
This moment between Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman was really nice. They were obviously really happy to be on the podium and came together for a hug and then raised their arms, while holding their bronze medals. It's hard to match the Olympic spirit, but this moment truly embodies what it's all about.
2/19: Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands celebrates with a team member after winning the gold medal in the Women's Mass Start at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Sarah Stier:
Irene Schouten of Team Netherlands captured her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, chasing down Canada's Ivanie Blondin to win the Women's Mass Start Final. Schouten let out a scream as she crossed the stripe, celebrating another gold after her victories in the 3,000- and 5,000-meters.
She won the first and last speedskating events in Beijing, two weeks apart. Schouten was overcome with emotion here, an incredible feat to accomplish in one Olympic Games. I focused specifically on her face, and you can tell that all of her hard work paid off.
2/20: Iceland's Sveindís Janer Jónsdósttir kicks the ball during a 2022 SheBelieves Cup match against Czech Republic in Carson, Calif.
From the photographer, Omar Vega:
During the second day of the SheBelieves 2022 Cup, the Icelandic Soccer National Team faced the Czech Republic. In this photo, Icelandic player Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir fought for the ball to shoot at goal with all her might.
The match was hotly contested by both teams, however Jónsdóttir stood out for her performance and grit. The game ended 2-1 in favor of Iceland.
2/20: Cross-Country skiing silver medallist Jessie Diggins of Team USA celebrates during the closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics.
From the photographer, Maja Hitij:
I had a chance to photograph the closing ceremony from the field of play, where mostly pool (agency) photographers were. It was also my first day in Beijing since I spent the entire Olympic Games in Zhangjiakou, and I'm a big fan of the opening and closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony is also the medal ceremony from the last competitions — in this case the Cross-Country skiing women's 30-kilometer mass start free. I think for athletes to have a medal ceremony at the closing is probably even more special.
I knew when they announced the athletes' medals, they would all jump up or celebrate more than usual. As you can see here, silver medalist Jessie Diggins jumps up with utter enthusiasm and joy as her name is called. The colors of the background and Diggins' uniform also come together really well.
2/26: Noemie Fox of Australia competes in the Women's Kayak Single semifinal during the 2022 Canoe Slalom Australian Open in Penrith, Australia.
From the photographer, Mark Evans:
Upon arriving at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, I surveyed the course and saw a massive gush of water about halfway down and thought this was the spot for a dramatic photo. I was looking for a different perspective, and it was interesting to see how each kayaker negotiated this particular force.
I was acutely aware that you only get one go at it as it was a final, and the choice of camera position was paramount, which worked out in the end with this shot of Noemie Fox of Australia.
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