Christopher Blevins from the USA in action on his way winning the Cross Country Short Track Elite Men UCI XCC Mountain Bike World Series race in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, 25 May 2025. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/EPA)

Merit Prize Winner: “A Well Earned Rest in the Sahara”. This photo of Moussa Macher, our Tuareg guide, was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune (or erg) in the Tadrat region of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria. Moussa rested while waiting for us to finish our 45-minute struggle to the top. It only took ten minutes of rolling, running, and jumping to get back down. The Tadrat is part of the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park World Heritage area, famous for its red sand and engravings and rock paintings of cattle, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos that lived there when the climate was milder. Photo location: Summit of Tin-Merzouga, Tadrat, Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria. (Photo and caption by Evan Cole/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders perform before the game against the New England Patriots in Arlington, Texas on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)

Workers reinforce the electric pylons at a flooded area as Typhoon Nepartak approaches in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, China, July 9, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Alien-themed decorations are seen at the Alien Research Center in Hiko, September 19, 2019. Scores of UFO enthusiasts converged on rural Nevada for a pilgrimage of sorts to the U.S. installation known as Area 51, long rumored to house government secrets about alien life, as law enforcement officials beefed up security around the military base. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

Marc Berthod of Switzerland during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Super Combined on February 12, 2012 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Vianney Thibaut/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

A girl plays at the West Side Hallo Fest, a Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, October 27, 2023. Tens of thousands streamed last weekend to Bucharest's Angels' Island peninsula for what was the biggest Halloween festival in the Eastern European nation since the fall of Communism. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders celebrate on the field with the confetti after the Rams 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in a NFC championship football game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, January 30, 2022. (Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)