This Dustin Satloff image of Army football players before a game against the Navy won one of the top honors at this year’s World Sports Photography Awards. (Dustin Satloff)
An image of Army Black Knight football players ahead of a game against rival Navy won one of the top honors at this year’s World Sports Photography Awards.
The black-and-white photo of Dustin Satloff placed first in the American football category of the competition, which received more than 7,000 submissions in two dozen categories, according to organizers.
Satloff’s image shows three US Military Academy players in the locker room at MetLife Stadium with towels over their heads as they wait to face the US Naval Academy Midshipmen in December 2021.
One of the players looks down at his smartphone, providing a distinct 21st century snapshot of the rivalry, which dates back to 1890.
“Sports photography captures special moments and tells unique stories, but most importantly, it draws you in and reveals the unexpected,” said competition co-founder Simon Burton, as quoted by the BBC. “It forces you to look again and reconsider.”
New York-based Satloff said on Instagram that he was “grateful to have been awarded gold” for his image.
The big winner of the competition, now in its third year, was David Gray’s shooting of Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka with a butterfly in her hand during a match at the 2021 Australian Open Burton called the image “stunning”.