In its first year, the World Sports Photography Awards has given its top prize to professional photographer Richard Heathcote for an incredible shot of heavyweight fighters Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. Praised by the judges for its powerful vision and technical difficulty, it is just one of several spectacular photographs celebrated in this impressive inaugural contest.

“Sport and Photography have a long and powerful relationship,” says co-founder of the awards Alan Whiter. “The emotion, athleticism and focus that is at the heart of sport is a uniquely captured and communicated through photography. These are an amazing collection of images across sporting disciplines and with all sorts of stories behind them.”

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

A judging panel of diverse sports professionals, from Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jason Bell to the head of BBC Radio’s digital sport coverage, broke the winning images into eight thematic categories: Joy, Precision, Speed, Focus, Determination, Power, View, Celebration. Each category features three winning shots.

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Highlights from the brilliant bunch include several snaps encapsulating the pure unbridled emotion of winning a tough competition, a mind-bending shot of an upside-down motocross rider on top of a building, and some of beautiful images of stadiums packed full of people. The latter shots undeniably take on a touch of bittersweet emotion in light of the current global freeze on mass gatherings.

Take a look through this collection of the best sports shots from the past year in our gallery.

Source: World Sports Photography Awards