25 of the best sports photos of the year

• Getty Images released its top sports photos of 2024.
• Photographers captured athletes from around the world as they competed in the Olympic Games.
• Beyond Paris, the sports world stayed active, with the Super Bowl, Euros, World Series, and more.

Olympic years are a particularly special time for sports, and 2024 was no different.

As crowds gathered in Paris to watch their favorite athletes compete, the world’s biggest stars rose to the occasion. From Simone Biles’ triumphant return to the Olympic stage to Julien Alfred winning Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal, the events in Paris captured much of the sport world’s attention this year.

And yet, there were still so many more moments to celebrate.

Michael Heiman, VP of global sport at Getty Images, told Business Insider, “It was a busy year. The summer Olympics is always kind of at the height of the sports calendar, the four-year cycle,” adding, “But the other thing is that stuff doesn’t stop just because it’s an Olympic year.”

As the ninth-largest industry in the world — worth $2.65 trillion, according to the Global Institute of Sport — sports smashed new barriers this year, and photographers were there to capture the emotions and history-making moments.

The growth of women’s sports was particularly impactful in 2024, and is only gaining momentum. More than 18 million people watched Iowa and South Carolina compete in the NCAA women’s basketball championship, the WNBA secured an 11-year media rights deal worth about $2.2 billion, and women’s sports merchandise alone is estimated to be worth $4 billion.

As the world raises its expectations for sport in 2025, here’s a look at 25 of Getty’s top 100 sport photos of the year.