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)

A model backstage ahead of the Rasit Bagzibagli show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul at on March 27, 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Sinem Yazici/Getty Images for IMG)

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Friday, February 2, 2024. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast an early spring. (Photo by Barry Reeger/AP Photo)

Derby's Byron MacLean, left, edges out Hall's Joe Nham in the boys 55-meter hurdles at the CIAC State Open indoor track championships at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, Saturday, February 17, 2024. Lyman Hall's Owen Rich, right, falls after taking down the final hurdle. (Photo by Cloe Poisson/Hartford Courant via AP Photo)

A supporter of opposition leader and governor of Santa Cruz Luis Fernando Camacho shouts slogans on a bullhorn during a protest in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Prosecutors in Bolivia on Dec. 29, 2022, remanded Camacho into custody for four months while he faces terrorism charges. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Erin Brooks of Canada surfs in the Heat 3 of the Round of 16 during the 2024 GWM Sydney Surf Pro at North Narrabeen Beach on May 12, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)

A young sloth named Gloria, that was rescued after being stolen from the wild destined for trafficking, peeks out of the box it is being taken to be released at the city's Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, March 13, 2023. Gloria was cared for by the Free Life Institute NGO that rehabilitates injured wildlife found in the surrounding Rio area and returns them, when possible, back to the wild. Those that are too injured to be released are sent to other rehab centers or sanctuaries to live out their lives in protected environments. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Clara Macaroni, 3, rests on her father's prize-winning Shorthorn cow before a parade at the opening ceremony for the Rural Society's annual exposition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)