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)

China perform during the mixed team free preliminaries on day seven of the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome on February 8, 2024 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Germany's Darja Varfolomeev competes with a ribbon during the individual apparatus final at the 41st FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships at Carioca Arena, in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, August 24, 2025. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Trees grow through the windshield of a 1937 Chrysler Imperial as it sits at Old Car City, the world's largest known classic car junkyard Thursday, July 16, 2015, in White, Ga. Over 4,000 classic cars decorate 32 acres of forest which have been turned into a junkyard museum by owner Walter Dean Lewis. The two grew up playing in the cars on the lot which started as a general store selling auto parts in 1931 by Lewis' parents. Lewis stopped selling parts about six years ago when he realized he could sustain the business more as a museum, charging $15 for visitors just looking, and $25 for photographers. Many of the cars have never moved in over 30 years and in some cases, trees now grow through them, even lifting some off the ground. (Photo by David Goldman/AP Photo)

Skiers take part in the Skicolor event where they are sprayed with biodegradable color powders as part of carnival celebrations in the alpine resort of La Tzoumaz, Switzerland on February 23, 2020. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Honda Spanish rider Marc Marquez crashes with Aprilia Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira during the MotoGP race of the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, on March 26, 2023. (Photo by Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters)

Denver Broncos cheerleaders perform during the first half of a preseason NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, August 16, 2025, in Denver. (Photo by David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

Soldiers ask a tourist to evacuate Mirador beach ahead of Hurricane Beryl's expected arrival in Tulum, Mexico, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Fernando Llano/AP Photo)