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)

In this May 8, 2015 photo, sisters Zoraida Infante, left, and Graciela Trujillo pray on Fishermen's Beach before therapeutic swimming in the Pacific Ocean in Lima, Peru. Under overcast skies, the bathers practice thalassotherapy, which derives from the Greek “thalasso”, for “sea”, and draws on the ocean's healing properties. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Ukrainian servicemen fire toward Russian troops with a tank at a position in Donetsk region, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine on August 12, 2022. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Military volunteers and civilians take a shooting training at a range in Rostov region on November 11, 2022, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Schoolchildren with face paint resembling tigers take part in a “Kids for Tigers” campaign in Bangalore, India 27 January 2023. The campaign tries to raise awareness on environmental education with outreach programs, workshops, and information on saving tigers in schools and colleges across the country. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA/EFE)

Jesus Taborda and Sabrina Amuchastegui compete in the final round of the Tango World Championship stage category, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, September 25, 2021. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

Fire blows from a fogging machine as a worker sprays fumigation vapour to stem the spread of dengue virus along a street in Peshawar, Pakistan, October 18, 2021. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Palestinian youths from the freestyle parkour team in Gaza practice their skills at the beach in the northern Gaza Strip on August 29, 2023. (Photo by Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)