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)

Rebecca Bailey rides a unicycle during a winter nor'easter snow storm in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. February 9, 2017. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Leonhard Nienbling is shown with his 6-month old pet baboon Jackl, who holds a 6-month old kitten, its playmate, June 29, 1952. Niebling has quite an animal collection at his home in Zirndorf, Germany. (Photo by Heinrich Sanden/AP Photo)

Kaden Bringsplenty brings his horse to the starting line as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Reuters)

Saudi female firearm trainer, Mona Al Khurais, teaches a Saudi boy on safe usage of weapons at the Top-Gun shooting range in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 28, 2021. (Photo by Ahmed Yosri/Reuters)

British rapper Lady Leshurr poses as she arrives for the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 18, 2020. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Winner of the GWFF Best Feature Award Belarusian-American actress Dasha Nekrasova (L) and U.S. writer and editor Madeline Quinn pose at the 71st Berlinale International Film Festival ahead the awarding ceremony during the “Berlinale Summer Special” film festival in Berlin, Germany on June 13, 2021. (Photo by Tobias Schwarz/Pool via Reuters)

Sculpture by Danger Dave titled “Damien Hirst Looking for Sharks” is seen on September 13, 2021 in Currumbin, Australia. SWELL Sculpture Festival is an annual exhibition that features 65 large-scale sculptures installed along Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast in Queensland. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)