Spirit in Motion: Best sports photos of the 2024 Paralympic Games from Getty Images

Coming right on the heels of the Olympics, the 2024 Paralympic Games were an incredible coda to a summer of sports in Paris. And, as usual, it's hard to imagine the events without the iconic stills provided by Getty Images.

For a final roundup of the best photographs from the games, a dozen of their photographers shared their favorite images along with the stories of how each was captured.

This image of Ahmed Kelly is one of my favorites from the Games. I tried to capture the speed he was swimming at with a slow shutter and you can see the movement in his legs while his face is nice and crisp. I also love the flame shape that is above him as it almost mimics the Paris 2024 Paralympic logo. — Adam Pretty/Getty Images

This was a challenging frame to capture with me lying on my back for an hour of the competition using a 400mm lens trying to get as low an angle as possible. Team USA athlete Beatriz Hatz had a very personal technique by jumping sideways, and her flying hair and glitter make up added to an unusual yet stunning photo. — Michael Steele/Getty Images 

I aimed to capture a moment of intensity and precision in wheelchair fencing. What struck me most was the contrast between the dynamic movements of the athletes and the stillness of their wheelchairs. This balance creates a compelling narrative of strength, determination, and resilience, as both competitors challenge their limits to overcome their opponents.

The team final match was electric. The lighting focused perfectly on the fencers, isolating their movements and helping me frame the most powerful shots. The sharp lights created a clean focus on the athletes while casting shadows that added depth, pulling the viewer into the action. These shadows in the background heighten the tension of the duel and make the fencers stand out against the darker backdrop.

One of the most challenging parts of this shot was ensuring the background didn’t distract from the action. With so much happening, it was crucial to find an angle that highlighted Team Great Britain's distinctive mask and allowed the viewer to feel the suspense of the match. — David Ramos/Getty Images

Team Turkey’s celebrations during the Women's Goalball Gold Medal Game were really fun to capture. Everything they scored one player would do somersault so I knew at the end of the game they would really celebrate. It’s fun capturing these moments and seeing what it means to the athletes while also choosing the best background possible to make them stand out in the frame.

It turns out that Ian Seidenfeld and I hail from the same state — Minnesota! He had a modified paddle that he used during competition. The longer handle was on when he was not serving. I chose to shoot into the net as it had the best view of the length of the handle and showcased the action very clearly. I also blurred out the background to keep the focal point of the photo on Seidenfeld. — Elsa/Getty Images

This picture was taken with a remote camera that I set up by the long jump pit ahead of the competition. Using the remote gave me a different vantage point that you wouldn’t normally be able to achieve with a handheld camera because it is placed so close to the pit. I wanted to get an angle showing how high the athletes were jumping and also showing their prosthetic legs. — Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Photographing shooting can be challenging. The safety element means as photographers we aren’t allowed near the target range or firing end of the competition. As the competitors are eliminated, space opens up and the gold medalist here, Natascha Hiltrop, framed up exactly where I hoped she would. With some lucky timing, I was able to get the firing rifle with the Paris 2024 logo. — Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Generally, a sports photographer’s standard lens is 400mm to capture action a long way from your position. In this frame, I was on a focal length of 28mm, a privilege to be in a courtside position. Frustratingly, there was an advertisement board just in front of me which ruined an even better frame in the sequence as USA player Trevon Jenifer fell in front of me. The speed and intensity of the sport and athletes were on full display here. — Michael Steele/Getty Images

I wanted to show motion and speed during the Men's 1500m T13 Final so I chose a side-on angle to use slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the athletes. I really love how colorful this image is too. — Naomi Baker/Getty Images

A major part of our coverage of the Paralympics is to show the athletes' disabilities or impairments as they compete or celebrate. Bronze medalist Meryem Betul Cavdar of Team Turkey ran around with her flag after winning her last taekwondo match. I really liked the red against the black background with her hand raised high. A tight crop helps lead your eye from her face to her hand. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Blind soccer is unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before. Players listen to the rattling ball as it ricochets off boards along the sidelines and across the turf. I wanted to capture a clean image of players possessing the ball across the center logo. It took some waiting, but fortunately, the play crossed in the right spot. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Before the Paralympics began, our team of photographers was tasked with covering training sessions to familiarize ourselves with venues and to add to our preview coverage. The sun illuminates the famous Roland Garros red clay beautifully. I wanted to add an extra layer of interest to it by finding a reflection. There are pieces of plexiglass around the venue I used to create this effect. The training sessions allow for exploration and creativity without the pressure of covering important matches, so was able to get this beautiful reflective image of Australia’s Anderson Parker. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

As Milana Krassavtseva of Team Kazakhstan celebrated with the crowd, I wanted to get the Paris 2024 logo on the mat as part of the frame to mark the time and place of the moment. The angle I captured her from also looks like she’s floating and larger than life in this joyous moment. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Before the competition began, I spent time photographing training sessions which allows for room to be creative without the pressure of missing anything. Sevilay Ozturk of Team Turkey, who has no arms, was practicing her backstroke. A lucky splash of water caught my focus and created symmetry in front of her face. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

David Smith is always a great athlete to photograph. He always has fun hairstyles which adds more to an image. I wanted to make sure I had a clean background to showcase this, as well as his skill and precision. This is the first time I’ve ever photographed Boccia and I really enjoyed capturing the talents of David Smith. — Naomi Baker/Getty Images

A highlight of the Paralympics has been the continued Parisian support and any French medalist added to the crowd's fervor as shown in this frame during Antoine Praud’s lap of honor. A long lens helps condense the athlete into a sea of tricolor and French pride. — Michael Steele/Getty Images 

Fencing is full of explosive emotions after each point, but the best reaction is after the winning moment. Kinga Drozdz of Team Poland was on my list of athletes to cover, and I noticed from her earlier rounds that she reacts facing straightforward. I really wanted a clean, black background with her hand visible. I decided to photograph this with a 300mm lens to tighten the framing of the anticipated moment. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Sept. 1 was the start of blind football competition at the iconic Eiffel Tower Stadium. This was the first look at the venue during competition of the Paralympic Games. Thankfully the weather was beautiful to create a scene-setter photo. The venues and iconic backdrops for Paris 2024 are what made these Games exceptional unique and special. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

I captured this photo during a sitting volleyball match against China and France. With this being the Paralympics, I thought it was important to show the uniqueness of the athletes here and highlight their level of skill and dedication. While the athletes are limited by a disability, I say limited lightly because they really aren’t. It’s incredible to watch and experience how athletic, competitive and talented they are. You see Meling Zhao of China going all out, laying it all on the line to get to the ball. I think it’s a beautiful picture, illustrating her talent, ability and dedication to the play and her country. — Andy Lyons/Getty Images

This was a picture that I had in my mind after the first day I saw the blind runners compete with their guides. I was fascinated by the coordination between the two athletes. For this picture, I was on the side of the track and because of the way the light was traveling I knew that I would have a darker background if the sun came out (which it did for only this race).  I watched the athletes be introduced on the big screen and noticed the gold mask. I also noticed that Ananias Shikongo was closer to me and I was able to capture him and his guide in perfect stride and the band that connects them by their hands all lit up in the sun. — Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Track cycling always lends itself to a slow pan shot which illustrates the speed set by the riders, the cleanness of the track and athlete set against the swoosh of color. You need a steady hand using a slow shutter speed while following the cyclist as he swoops by. Aiming to get the head sharp is key. — Michael Steele/Getty Images

The day I was assigned badminton was a day of back-to-back medal matches all day. I decided to stay up high and shoot down to keep the backgrounds simplified. After an entire day of winning reactions, this image aligned the most perfectly. I photographed it with a 70-200mm lens to keep the grid composition of the logos with the athlete celebrating his bronze medal win and racquet in the other boxes. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

When you’re photographing swimming, the water often times creates patterns out of the ordinary splashes that can make a photo very creative.  This photo of Tully Kearney was at the start of the race, and I really like the way the water enveloped her, showing her forward movement. — Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

I captured this photo on the first day of the Paralympic tennis tournament and these days it is always very busy because I have to shoot a lot of matches. On that day, we had some rain delays so the schedule got a little tighter. I knew that Brazil’s Gustavo Carneiro Silva had a very nice and athletic backhand. I like to shoot the backhand during the backswing of that shot — not at the moment when the racket hits the ball—because the athlete looks often more relaxed. The challenge is getting the ball also in the frame because sometimes it's already out of the frame when the backswing looks nice and fully extended. — Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Photographing swimming at the Paralympics is unique and amazing, it is one of the best things you can photograph as a sports photographer. The variety of different classifications means there is such a range of amazing imagery you can capture, and I have to say the S5 category (as in the picture) is one of my favorites. The Chinese team has three world-class S5 swimmers and they are basically human torpedoes through the water. The speeds they can reach are phenomenal! The atmosphere here in Paris is the best I have ever experienced, and I think it is actually louder and better than the Olympics. The crowd is so much more behind the athletes and not just cheering for their own country.

The image of Lichao Wang was taken using our underwater robotic camera. I was able to capture at a slow shutter speed to give the image some movement and illustrate the speed at which Wang was swimming. The wake from his head forms a perfect boomerang and reminds me of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. It is these little details that all add up to a special sports image it is what keeps motivating me to try and capture these athletes in the best possible way I know how. — Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Capturing this action shot presented several challenges, particularly due to the dynamic and unpredictable nature of wheelchair rugby. I had to navigate constant movement and interference from other players, which could obstruct the view or distract from the key moment. The sport's fast pace means that players frequently collide, shift positions, and move rapidly across the court.

To overcome these challenges, I needed to anticipate the action by closely following the game’s flow and predicting where key moments, like this fall, might occur. I was shooting with a 300mm, as we are close to the field of play and most of the clashes between players were happening in the halfway line. I was lucky enough to get in the frame the two players and the ball. I was amazed how fast and intense this sport is. — David Ramos/Getty Images

Table tennis can be a really tedious sport to capture given you want to ball or certain positioning of the athlete. I love this intense stare and moment from Panfeng Feng, especially during a gold medal match. The ball is placed perfectly in the photo with his complete focus right on it. — Michael Reaves/Getty Images

This project has been incredibly special for me and my fellow Getty Images colleagues who were involved in its conception and production. After experiencing two Olympic Games with minimal public participation due to pandemic restrictions, we felt a strong desire to reconnect the host city with the athletes, the actions, and the emotions unfolding daily in the stadiums and venues.

After months of brainstorming on how best to bridge the gap between the city and the spirit of the Games, we realized that projecting the most iconic moments of each day onto the city’s walls every night would create a powerful connection.

Following extensive planning and location scouting, we executed this vision over the 16 days of the Olympic Games and the 12 days of the Paralympics. Each night, we projected these unforgettable moments onto the city streets, allowing passersby to experience the energy and excitement of the events for a few minutes, bringing the Olympic spirit back to life in a unique and public way. — David Ramos/Getty Images

While photographing back-to-back medal matches on the last day of badminton competition, I decided to stay up high in order to get winning reactions with a clean background. While I was waiting for match points, I noticed the wheelchair players sometimes lean so far back that their faces are visible from behind their volley. It made for a dynamic image that shows their athleticism. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

This winning moment from Team Brazil shows the passion and love of their sport. I love how they're all celebrating together but also have their own moments of celebration all in different directions. While teams typically celebrate every point won during a match, this match-winning moment was especially blissful. — Andy Lyons/Getty Images

As soon as Roderick Townsend walked out to the high jump area to compete, I knew I wanted a shot showing off his great hair. It was great that he won the gold medal and I was able to get him to bite the medal when the sun was behind him and made his hair glow.  A gold-level performance and gold-standard moment to capture his excitement. — Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

This is my first time covering the Paralympics so was excited to be part of the team capturing the athletics competition. I captured this picture of Rosibel Colmenares during the Women's Long Jump - T11 Final. This event was really fascinating. All the athletes wear masks over their eyes so everyone is on the same level during competition and each athlete has a guide/assistant that helps them during the event. They usually stand right at the line where the athletes take off and either shout or clap as the athletes are running down the track and right before they jump, the guides move to the side. It was incredible to see the teamwork between the two. I love the emotion and power shown in this picture and the angle of Colmenares being head-on to the camera as she lands. — Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

I like the symmetrical aspect of this image. Patience is key for this. I needed the athletes to attack in the exact same manner with them facing me. It took about three matches to get it right finally. — Elsa/Getty Images

At the rowing venue, there was a bridge we had access to. For me, this was a great way to show the athlete and how they are able to row, the skills it takes and the set up in their boat from above. The morning light was also a nice contrast to the dark water. This places more emphasis on the athlete in this frame. — Naomi Baker/Getty Images

I had covered the earlier round of taekwondo during the day, so I knew that Ana Carolina Silva de Moura would celebrate like crazy if she won. Covering the earlier rounds and doing a little bit of research gives me insight into how an athlete responds. I love reaction pictures. I think we as viewers can make an instant connection to how she feels in this moment. Her facial expression, hair movement and body position say it all. — Elsa/Getty Images

Rain created a whole new dynamic to the archery competition. It was so amazing to see the bows and arrows flick water as the athlete shoots. This wouldn’t be possible without 30 frames per second capability of the Canon r3 bodies I use. And to add one more interesting element, it was funny to see Mariana Zuniga of Team Chile wearing sunglasses in the downpour. Her facial expression and all blue background really add to the photo, making her seem cool, calm and collected. — Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Goalball was a new sport to me at the 2024 Paralympic Games. The closest sport that I’m familiar with is Blind Cricket which has some similarities. I quickly realized that one element of skill of this sport was covering the range of possible trajectories of the audible ball in one movement. This is not dissimilar to the sweep shot used extensively by visually impaired cricket batters. I also realized goalball skills require the athletes to be covering the net in coordination together. I saw some activity around the goal and had something like this shot in the back of my mind if it happened. Christian King and Tyler Merren of Team USA produced beautiful symmetry jointly defending the goal which seemed to summarize my impressions of the sport nicely. — Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Medal ceremonies are wonderful moments for competitors and spectators alike, but they can make relatively routine photos for sports photographers. We expect more of a posed and formal presentation of the athletes. But when all three medalists celebrate together in a way that shows real emotion, it embodies the Paralympic spirit and why we all love sport. — Alex Davidson/Getty Images

I have been a fan of Ezra’s for a while, and it isn’t just because he has the same name as me. He is an incredible athlete.  His main sport is the high jump, and he wasn’t supposed to win the 100m T63 final, but when he was close to the finish line and closed the lead, I decided to focus on him as he sprinted to the line. I think he won the race by .01 seconds to become the Paralympic gold medal champion. — Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

It was remarkable and exceptional to witness Team USA’s Matt Stutzman progress to gold at Esplanade Des Invalides. I wanted to portray his accuracy, strength, concentration and the art of archery all in a single shot. I noticed Stutzman’s head turn very slightly towards my position as he released the arrow which was key to getting the photo I wanted. All the elements came together, and Stutzman was looking straight down my lens, something quite unusual in this sport. The arrow in flight fits the frame nicely and his expression to me says it all — lost in his own world of concentration and focus. — Alex Davidson/Getty Images

There are epic battles at the net in sitting volleyball. I liked the idea of just showing the hands and the ball and used a 300mm lens to just focus on the ball and hands at the net. What I love about this image is that you can see the taped fingers—the Paralympics and Team Canada artwork on their fingernails all add to the texture of this image. I worked on this for about half of a set to get it just right. — Elsa/Getty Images

As the Official Photographic Agency of the IPC, Getty Images has unique camera setups throughout the venues, including both remote and robotic cameras. For this angle, a remote camera was installed on the roof of Bercy Arena directly over the basket and it's been really fun to use to show another angle of the sport. The timing is perfect to see the athletes back-to-back ready to go and their faces through the hoop. I think it's a really impactful image and one of my favorites from the Games! — Naomi Baker/Getty Images

I was able to capture this race from under the water using a proprietary underwater robotic camera, which our team has been working on prior to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It gives us a unique vantage point and tracks the movements of athletes very seamlessly. I love the underwater angle, it’s a glimpse of the sport most people can’t see and produces creative, eye-catching and quiet moments beneath the surface. — Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

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