The most stunning photos across women's sports from the last month — NWSL championship, NYC Marathon, and more

From the photographer, Elsa Garrison:

The 50th running of the New York City Marathon was on a perfect crisp fall day. Madison De Rozario of Australia had a commanding lead in her division and easily crossed the finish line to take first place. As soon as the flag was draped around her shoulders, you could see the moment finally sink in for her.

This was the first New York City Marathon win for De Rozario and first Australian woman to win the event – wheelchair or open event. This summer she won gold at the Tokyo 2002 Paralympics in Marathon. The New York City Marathon capped off a tremendous year for De Rozario.

From the photographer, Elsa Garrison:

It was great to cover the New York City Marathon after missing it last year due to Covid-19. Also, the fact that it was the 50th running of it this year. It was a perfect fall day in New York as Peres Jepchirchir emerged from the pack and was overcome with joy as she crossed the finish line. Three months ago in Tokyo, Jepchirchir won Olympic gold in the marathon, so it was special to see her victorious once again.

From the photographer, Tom Pennington:

I shot this photo of Isabella Wright during one of the US Alpine Ski Team Media Days held at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. To get into position to shoot this photo during Super G Training, I skied into position on the racecourse that featured a fall line and terrain where the athletes would certainly be catching air.

The position wasn't ideal as the background was cluttered with a mix of B-net, coaches and snow-making equipment. After tracking a couple ski racers off the jump, I was able to find a safe position to shoot through a "keyhole" to catch the ski racers in a full tuck position flying through the air with a clean background.

I utilized a slow shutter speed and a panning technique to blur the background while keeping the subject in perfect focus. This technique also helps convey a sense of speed to show the intensity of Alpine ski racing. All the credit goes to Wright for hitting the jump in perfect form allowing all the elements to come together into a fun photograph to capture.

From the photographer, Tom Pennington:

I shot this photo of Mikaela Shiffrin while she was training at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. I was able to ski into position on the racecourse, then scout out the best slalom gate to focus on.

Once in position, I waited for Shiffrin to make a training run down the course. Using a 600 mm telephoto lens, I was able to isolate her from the background and really show her ski technique and body position while attacking the race course. All of these elements combined with the heavy snowfall came together to produce a dramatic image of Shiffrin in her element.

From the photographer, Mike Ehrmann:

I grew up skateboarding so covering this event was more important to me than anyone probably realized. Getting back to something that's at the core of how I grew up, and how I discovered photography, was so incredibly refreshing.

Seeing how far the sport has progressed seeing these young athletes (Rayssa Leal is only 13-years old!) not only try but land things I never would've attempted was something really cool to experience. Not to mention it was beautiful day to photograph, making the entire experience picture-perfect.

From the photographer, Mike Ehrmann:

Pamela Rosa of Brazil had won the final for the SLS Super Crown World Championship here. It was an exciting day, especially with an entire crowd full of enthused fans.

I love this shot here; the clean, blue background helps bring in the viewer straight to Rosa's reaction, as well as the details of her nails, tattoos, and overall body language.

From the photographer, Tim Nwachukwu:

The NWSL Championship came in with what seemed like a mountain of storylines. In this photo, there's a sense of relief at the end of a long, and in different ways, painful season for the league and winners, Washington Spirit.

The weight of off-field controversy, as well as playing two extra time periods can take a lot out of a fan so that must be unimaginable as a player. Add in a late winning goal and these are the reactions after moving a mountain (or three)! It was truly an incredible moment to capture.

From the photographer, Tim Nwachukwu:

The outpouring emotion from Kelley O'Hara here is undeniable. Beyond action, emotion in sport is just as important to document and this celebration photo is one I'll always remember. These athletes are second to none and watching them dominate and be named this year's NWSL champions was so inspiring.

From the photographer, Cameron Spencer:

Throughout the International Friendly series between the Australia Matildas and USWNT, Ashley Hatch continued to be a threat whenever she touched the ball. Hatch was impressive to watch around the goal square, with the U.S. winning 3-0 against Australia in front of a record crowd for a women's football fixture in Australia.

Her expression here says it all in comparison to the dejection of the Australian players.

From the photographer, Lintao Zhang:

In the Women's Ski Cross final of Audi FIS Cross World Cup 2022, the competition was very fierce. I had a hunch that there would be a good picture in the final, so I chose to shoot in front of the finish line.

After Sandra Naeslund of Sweden crossed the finish line, she was excited to celebrate. I was glad to capture this moment with a clean background and a ton of enthusiasm coming from Naeslund.

From the photographer, Cameron Spencer:

Ashley Hatch is seen celebrating here after scoring the third-fastest goal in USWNT history. An impressive shot resulted in her scoring a brilliant goal after just 24 seconds. It was Hatch's first international goal for the United States and her jubilation can be seen as she celebrates the big moment with her teammates.

It happened very fast following the start of the game. Fortunately I was in position at the right end with my cameras ready and captured the moment which ended up being one of the strongest images I created from the friendly match against the Australian Matildas.

From the photographer, Gregory Shamus:

This photo was taken during the first run of the women's giant slalom at Killington Resort. Only nine racers came down the course and the race was cancelled. We were in a cloud with very low visibility, and it was snowing hard with 40mph winds. It was amazing to me they even sent one skier down the course.

The first nine were the top nine in the world and included Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States and Sofia Goggia of Italy. Even with the race being cancelled it was important to try and capture some images of these two rivals.

This image has a bit of a funny tone to it because of the low visibility and long lens I was shooting there was only a faint image of her in the camera. Getting to photograph these amazing athletes on the mountain was just amazing – TV can't do justice to the speed and athleticism they display and Sofia right now is the best in the world.

From the photographer, Mark Kolbe:

With the match drawing huge attention for one of Australia's favorite teams, the Matildas took on the world champion USWNT at Sydney's biggest stadium — drawing a record crowd. I set the remote camera in the center behind the goal to capture the stadium background with hopefully some strong action in front of goal.

That became a reality in the second half as the U.S. were awarded a spot penalty. The players lined in formation behind Lindsey Horan and charged forward as she slotted the shot just passed the outstretched hands of the diving keeper, adding multiple layers to the image.

From the photographer, Al Bello:

This was a photo I was trying to time correctly. Ramla Ali was occasionally tagging Isela Vera with the straight right hand throughout the fight. I paid attention to her cadence and rhythm of how and when she threw her punches.

The next thing I had to do was try to avoid the referee blocking the shot and also hope they moved to where the dancing rows of lights lined up behind them. Then of course hopefully time the punch right. In an instant everything came together and then it was gone, but I got the picture!

From the photographer, Hector Vivas:

The first half of the Women's International Friendly match between Mexico and Canada did not generate much action. Both teams were wary of the fast break and not much action was generated. This was because they had had a previous match where Mexico beat Canada, and it was a great result for Mexico not to lose against the team that just won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

This moment was one of the few strong action shots that I was able to photograph throughout the match. You can see the intensity of the play through their facial expression and body movements, making for a very concentrated image.

From the photographer, Cameron Spencer:

In the second of two friendly matches between the Australian Matildas and the United States Women's National Team, it was a tighter contest than their first game played in Sydney. The Matildas had multiple opportunities with shots on target.

In this image, Sam Kerr of the Matildas took a kick at the goal under pressure from Alana Cook of the United States and you can see the skills of both players showcased. One of the best strikers in world of soccer, Kerr, who is always dangerous near the goal square, was being defended by an athletic Cook at full stretch in one of the defining moments from this encounter.

The United States team led 1-0 for the majority of the match with Australia equalizing 1-1 in the final minutes of the match with an impressive goal from Kyah Simon. It was an exciting night of soccer hosted in Newcastle and a privilege to see the world champions USWNT in action, as well as Australia who demonstrated they can mix it with the best in the business!

From the photographer, Hector Vivas:

Kenti Robles is one of the most important players for the Mexico National Team as the captain, as well as her experience playing outside of Mexico which has made her a complete leader. During her matches, it's always important to have a special focus on her, especially on her reactions and defensive plays. It was a tense moment of the game where Canada was attacking a lot and Mexico was defending its goal with everything they had.

From the photographer, Mark Kolbe:

The USWNT were playing a high intensity style of football, competing at every opportunity to win the ball. With this in mind, as I saw the ball being cleared with a high kick I knew there was a chance of a dynamic image of players hopefully jumping together as they contested the ball in the air.

The fact Emily van Egmond didn't jump to contest against Ashley Hatch created a different element to the image and the contrast of the players position with van Egmond looking up adding to the feel of Hatch's dominate position winning the ball.