Revisit the 75 best photos from the 2016 Rio Olympics

Scott DavisJul 7, 2021, 22:09 IST

Usain Bolt easily beating his competition instantly became an iconic moment.Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

The Rio Olympics took place nearly five years ago.
The Rio games were unlike any other, and photos caught the incredible spectacle.
The 75 best photos include an iconic Usain Bolt moment, Michael Phelps' stretch, and the pain and glory of competing.

It has been nearly five years since the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, two weeks that included numerous world records and famous green diving pools.

The photos from the Rio games were terrific, and they captured the emotion, energy, and athleticism of the games. That Rio is one of the most photogenic cities in the world helped, too.

Below are some of our favorite photos from the Olympics.

Emmett Knowlton contributed to this post.

It's too easy for Usain Bolt.

Cameron Spencer/Getty

Neymar after winning gold for the host nation.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

An Australian archer takes aim with a Rio favela in the background.

Quin Rooney/Getty

Diving in!

Al Bello/Getty

England's Brownlee brothers collapse after taking gold and silver in the men's triathlon.

Bryn Lennon/Getty

Nice dig by China's Fan Wang.

Quinn Rooney/Getty

There's something exceedingly dramatic about fencing.

Matthias Hangst/Getty

Polish rowers completely drained after the pair final.

Patrick Smith/Getty

Nobody likes to lose.

Pedro Vilela/Getty

You can't look away from Michael Phelps' pre-swim stretch.

Michael Sohn/AP

Russian and Mongolian wrestlers, wrestling.

Lars Baron/Getty

Weightlifter Ayesha Shahriyar M. Albalooshi of the UAE.

Las Baron/Getty

Even Olympians get tired after the steeplechase.

Ian Walton/Getty

Tattoos of the Olympic rings are common throughout Rio.

Paul Gilham/Getty

Rowers take the water early in the morning.

Alexander Hassenstein/Getty

Great Britain's Elissa Downie gives you a sense of how narrow the balance beam is ...

Ian Walton/Getty

... which makes Gabby Douglass all the more impressive.

Ezra Shaw/Getty

Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger check out a capybara on the golf course.

Ross Kinnaird/Getty

Simone Manuel reacts after winning gold.

Adam Pretty/Getty

A tangle of body parts in Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun of China's routine.

Clive Rose/Getty

Anastasia Gloushkov Leventhal and Ievgenia Tetelbaum of Israel are in sync.

Al Bello/Getty

How's this for strength?

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty

Raven Saunders prepares to shot put.

Cameron Spencer/Getty

Katie Ledecky, breaking world records.

Al Bello/Getty

Ledecky, breaking more records.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty

Don't mess with Paula Ungureanu of Romania's handball team.

Lars Baron/Getty

Victory is sweet.

Julian Finney/Getty

Michael Phelps' opponent realizes he's been beaten.

Martin Meissner/AP

Different reactions from USA's Lilly King and Russia's Yulia Efimova as they look at their times.

Clive Rose/Getty

Simone Biles momentarily defeats gravity.

Lars Baron/Getty

A wrestler from Uzbekistan celebrating (not wrestling!) with his coach after a bronze medal.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

The French handball team roars during a semifinal match with Germany.

Lars Baron/Getty

Good concentration from Segun Toriola of Nigeria.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty

Team USA's Heather Miller-Koch competes in the high-jump portion of the heptathlon.

Cameron Spencer/Getty

Backstrokers in unison.

Adam Pretty/Getty

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade stretches out on the balance beam.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Losing is never easy for Novak Djokovic.

Clive Brunskill/Getty

Divers plunge into the mysteriously green pool water.

Matt Dunham/AP

Germany's Laura Vargas Koch competes against Angola's Antonia Moreira in judo.

Al Bello/Getty

Japanese decathlete Akihiko Nakamura stretches out in the long jump.

Matthias Hangst/Getty

Mo Farah pulls away to win the 5,000 meter gold.

Patrick Smith/Getty

The 10km marathon swimmers grab refreshments.

Adam Pretty/Getty

Tijana Bogdanovic of Serbia lands a high kick in women's taekwondo.

Ryan Pierse/Getty

Mateus Filipe Gregorio Machado of Brazil lets it all out.

Stoyan Nenov/Getty

Hosam Hussein Bakr Abdin of Egypt is feeling the pain.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty

And Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba is about to feel the pain.

David Ramos/Getty

Irish boxer Michael Conlan tells the judges how he really feels after a controversial quarterfinal exit.

Jae C. Hong/AP

Fencers in action - fencers in flight.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Power.

Lars Baron/Getty

Violetta Kolobova of Russia celebrates winning bronze.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Celebration and suffering in the men's steeplechase finale.

Shaun Botterill/Getty

Jack Laugher and Chris Mears of Great Britain warm up ahead of the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final.

Adam Pretty/Getty

Flying horse.

Mark Kolbe/Getty

Uh oh.

Elsa/Getty

Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands with some friendly taunting after defeating Qian Li of China.

Sean M. Haffey/Getty

Boomer Phelps getting ready for 2036?

Al Bello/Getty

Good concentration from Lin Dan of China.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty

Indonesian mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir celebrated after winning gold.

Richard Heathcote/Getty

A Mongolian coach stripped off his clothes in protest after his wrestler lost a gold medal for celebrating too early.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Trinidadian shot-putter Cleopatra Borel readies herself.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty

A Croatian water-polo player rises out of the water for a shot.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty

Yang Haeun of South Korea watches the ball.

Rob Carr/Getty

Italy's Paola Ogechi Egonu elevates and detonates over Puerto Rico.

Buda Mendes/Getty

Look out.

Clive Brunskill/Getty

Boogeying? Nope. Race walking.

Bryn Lennon/Getty

Russian fencers celebrate after defeating the US in the team semifinal.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Tania Cagnotto of Italy plummets off the 3-meter springboard.

Clive Rose/Getty

Canada's Jennifer Abel seemingly relaxes in mid-air during the women's 3-meter springboard final.

Al Bello/Getty

Not a bad view from the women's road race.

Bryn Lennon/Getty

Great Britain's Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves hike all the way out.

Clive Mason/Getty

Ipanema Beach at sunset.

Joe Scarnici/Getty

Christ the Redeemer looks down upon some windsurfers.

Matthew Stockman/Getty

The look on the face of a Brazilian volleyball player after winning gold says it all.

Tom Pennington/Getty

A Japanese boat sails on a gorgeous afternoon in Rio. Who's ready for Tokyo 2020?

Clive Mason/Getty

The most stunning photos across women's sports this month - from Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky to the USWNT

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Revisit the 75 best photos from the 2016 Rio Olympics

It's too easy for Usain Bolt.

Neymar after winning gold for the host nation.

An Australian archer takes aim with a Rio favela in the background.

Diving in!

England's Brownlee brothers collapse after taking gold and silver in the men's triathlon.

Nice dig by China's Fan Wang.

There's something exceedingly dramatic about fencing.

Polish rowers completely drained after the pair final.

Nobody likes to lose.

You can't look away from Michael Phelps' pre-swim stretch.

Russian and Mongolian wrestlers, wrestling.

Weightlifter Ayesha Shahriyar M. Albalooshi of the UAE.

Even Olympians get tired after the steeplechase.

Tattoos of the Olympic rings are common throughout Rio.

Rowers take the water early in the morning.

Great Britain's Elissa Downie gives you a sense of how narrow the balance beam is ...

... which makes Gabby Douglass all the more impressive.

Sergio Garcia and Bernd Wiesberger check out a capybara on the golf course.

Simone Manuel reacts after winning gold.

A tangle of body parts in Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun of China's routine.

Anastasia Gloushkov Leventhal and Ievgenia Tetelbaum of Israel are in sync.

How's this for strength?

Raven Saunders prepares to shot put.

Katie Ledecky, breaking world records.

Ledecky, breaking more records.

Don't mess with Paula Ungureanu of Romania's handball team.

Victory is sweet.

Michael Phelps' opponent realizes he's been beaten.

Different reactions from USA's Lilly King and Russia's Yulia Efimova as they look at their times.

Simone Biles momentarily defeats gravity.

A wrestler from Uzbekistan celebrating (not wrestling!) with his coach after a bronze medal.

The French handball team roars during a semifinal match with Germany.

Good concentration from Segun Toriola of Nigeria.

Team USA's Heather Miller-Koch competes in the high-jump portion of the heptathlon.

Backstrokers in unison.

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade stretches out on the balance beam.

Losing is never easy for Novak Djokovic.

Divers plunge into the mysteriously green pool water.

Germany's Laura Vargas Koch competes against Angola's Antonia Moreira in judo.

Japanese decathlete Akihiko Nakamura stretches out in the long jump.

Mo Farah pulls away to win the 5,000 meter gold.

The 10km marathon swimmers grab refreshments.

Tijana Bogdanovic of Serbia lands a high kick in women's taekwondo.

Mateus Filipe Gregorio Machado of Brazil lets it all out.

Hosam Hussein Bakr Abdin of Egypt is feeling the pain.

And Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba is about to feel the pain.

Irish boxer Michael Conlan tells the judges how he really feels after a controversial quarterfinal exit.

Fencers in action - fencers in flight.

Power.

Violetta Kolobova of Russia celebrates winning bronze.

Celebration and suffering in the men's steeplechase finale.

Jack Laugher and Chris Mears of Great Britain warm up ahead of the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard final.

Flying horse.

Uh oh.

Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands with some friendly taunting after defeating Qian Li of China.

Boomer Phelps getting ready for 2036?

Good concentration from Lin Dan of China.

Indonesian mixed doubles pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir celebrated after winning gold.

A Mongolian coach stripped off his clothes in protest after his wrestler lost a gold medal for celebrating too early.

Trinidadian shot-putter Cleopatra Borel readies herself.

A Croatian water-polo player rises out of the water for a shot.

Yang Haeun of South Korea watches the ball.

Italy's Paola Ogechi Egonu elevates and detonates over Puerto Rico.

Look out.

Boogeying? Nope. Race walking.

Russian fencers celebrate after defeating the US in the team semifinal.

Tania Cagnotto of Italy plummets off the 3-meter springboard.

Canada's Jennifer Abel seemingly relaxes in mid-air during the women's 3-meter springboard final.

Not a bad view from the women's road race.

Great Britain's Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves hike all the way out.

Ipanema Beach at sunset.

Christ the Redeemer looks down upon some windsurfers.

The look on the face of a Brazilian volleyball player after winning gold says it all.

A Japanese boat sails on a gorgeous afternoon in Rio. Who's ready for Tokyo 2020?