The Rio de Janeiro Olympics kick off on August 5 for some two weeks of competitive games drawing athletes as well as audiences from around the world. As they prepare to cover the event, Reuters photographers look back on their favourite pictures from past Olympics where they captured the action on the ground as well as the participants' tears and joy that followed. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

The overall winner of the 2013 Red Bull Illume photography competition from Lorenz Holder. (Photo by Lorenz Holder/Red Bull)

In this January 12, 2015 photo, a wall of collectable sneakers are displayed at Sneaker Pawn in the Harlem section of New York. Basketball sneakers can re-sell for hundreds of dollars, depending on the model, the size of the production run and how easy it is to find a pair in good condition. (Photo by Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

Bronze medalist Carlos Coloma Nicolas of Spain celebrates after finishing third in the cross-country cycling mountain bike race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

Germany's Darja Varfolomeev competes in the individual all-around final of the Olympic qualifier 40th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Valencia on August 26, 2023. (Photo by Jose Jordan/AFP Photo)

American swimmer Lydia Jacoby poses for a portrait during the Team USA media summit ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, at an event in New York, U.S., April 17, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

“The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The 1940 Games had been scheduled for Tokyo, and then Helsinki; the 1944 Games had been provisionally planned for London. This was the second occasion that London had hosted the Olympic Games, the city had previously been the venue in 1908”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The Olympic torch passes through Windsor on its way to Wembley, for the start of the Summer Olympics, 29th July 1948. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Getty Images)

Netherland's Kitty van Male is hit in the face by Argentina's Agustina Habif during the women's quarterfinal field hockey game, August 15, 2016. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)