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)

Praia du Forte, Bahia. “This was the lead picture for a National Geographic story on Bahia, because it was both mysterious as well as a “geography” picture showing where the slaves arrived from Nigeria. Beach pictures seem like they should be easy to take, but for me they are actually quite difficult. Too easy to fall into cliche. When I saw the kid coming on the horse, I quickly ran to see if I could make something with a woman in a bikini that was not a bikini shot”. (Photo by David Alan Harvey/The Guardian)

Jockeys spur buffalos during the Makepung buffalo races at Jembrana in Bali, Indonesia on October 23, 2016. Makepung is a tradition for farmers to celebrate a bumper harvest in Bali. (Photo by Kadek Raharja/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

Members of the Indonesian Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres) show their skills during the simulation of a terrorist attack in Jakarta, Indonesia, 29 December 2016. According to reports in local media the Indonesian security forces have already arrested 21 terrorists suspects and fatally shot five of them, who were allegedly planning attacks in the Indonesian capital during the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations this year. The presentation was shown on the occasion of a visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a delegation to the Paspampres headquarters in Jakarta. (Photo by Bagus Indahono/EPA)

“Hiding In The Shadows”. This Baby Sandhill taking refuge under Moms wings while sitting on her second egg. I witnessed this baby being born earlier that day,and the next morning saw the other one hatch,what a sight to see. Photo location: Deland, Florida. (Photo and caption by Scott Helfrich/National Geographic Photo Contest)

John Malkovich as Marilyn Monroe in a re-creation of Andy Warhol's 1962 painting. The image is a part of the series, “The Malkovich Sessions”, by photographer Sandro Miller and on display at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. Miller wanted to pay homage to the artists who influence his photographic career, and approached Malkovich with the idea of re-creating the famous portraits. (Photo by Sandro Miller/Catherine Edelman Gallery)

Andrew Parkinson, animal behaviour category winner: Crepuscular Contentment, Derbyshire. “In 15 years of working with badgers I’ve never seen a badger sit out in the open to have a scratch. I was sat concealed behind a tree and downwind so it was especially nice that the badger had his back to me, demonstrating just how inconspicuous and inconsequential my presence was”. (Photo by Andrew Parkinson/British Wildlife Photography Awards 2017)

Giving out with a yell, Elke Sommer is tossed on the trampoline as she trains for her movie role as an athlete, on the playing field of the University of California at Los Angeles, June 8, 1967. (Photo by AP Photo)