A dancer performs during the Gymnastics Rio Gala on Day 12 of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Floodwaters cover a Buddhastatue of at Wat Taku Buddhist temple in Bang Ban district in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya on November 14, 2025. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France perform during the ice dance skating event at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating final in Barcelona December 13, 2014. (Photo by Albert Gea/Reuters)

Poland's Piotr Lisek reacts after competing in the men's pole vault qualification during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on July 31, 2021. (Photo by Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters)

Tara Davis-Woodhall of Team United States competes during the Women's Long Jump Final on day two of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

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)

2016 Rio Olympics, Rugby, Women's Semifinals Britain vs New Zealand, Deodoro Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 8, 2016. Portia Woodman (NZL) of New Zealand tackles Claire Allan (GBR) of United Kingdom. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

2016 Rio Olympics, Weightlifting, Final, Women's 69kg, Riocentro, Pavilion 2, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 10, 2016. Leidy Solis (COL) of Colombia competes. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)