Revisit the 75 best photos from the 2016 Rio Olympics
Scott Davis  Â
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
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