With so many unforgettable moments from the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, narrowing them down to simply three images isn’t a straightforward process. But on Thursday, World Athletics introduced the finalists for its prestigious Photograph of the Yr award, and the focus of one in every of them simply occurs to be the foot of a Canadian Olympic steeplechaser.
The picture, titled “Perseverance,” was captured by Philadelphia-based Getty Sport photographer Emilee Chinn, reveals Canadian Olympian Jean-Simon Desgagnés showing to step on the face of New Zealand star Geordie Beamish as Beamish crashed to the observe after clearing a barrier. The second blew up on social media, reaching multiple million folks, and earned a spot among the many Photograph of the Yr nominees.
Regardless of the visible, Beamish mentioned the picture seemed rather a lot worse than it was. He informed FloTrack that he didn’t even know on the time that there was a spike in his face. The Kiwi ended up leaping again up from his fall to safe one of many 5 automated qualifying spots for the lads’s 3,000m steeplechase remaining. Desgagnés’ proper foot clipped Beamish’s leg whereas attempting to hurdle over him, and he additionally went down. Desgagnés was later superior to the ultimate on a referee’s resolution, the place he ended up ending thirteenth.
Beamish got here into the championships as an underdog within the steeplechase. However after surviving this dramatic fall within the heats, he delivered one of many meet’s greatest shocks, successful New Zealand’s first-ever observe gold medal at a World Championships.
The opposite two finalists for Photograph of the Yr are:
Vegard Grøtt (Norway): “A placing picture capturing the shadows of Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordås and Sweden’s Samuel Pihlström throughout the males’s mile on the Bislett Video games Diamond League in Oslo.”
Fabrizio Bensch (Germany): “A celebratory shot of males’s 100m bronze medallist Noah Lyles embracing his U.S. teammate Tara Davis-Woodhall, the ladies’s lengthy bounce gold medallist, on the World Championships.”
Finalists introduced for 2025 World Athletics {Photograph} of the Yr 📷
Congratulations to ✨
• Emilee Chinn
• Vegard Grøtt
• Fabrizio Bensch🔗 https://t.co/NQsywkY2nE#AthleticsAwards pic.twitter.com/kPAD6Z5T4q
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) November 13, 2025
For this award, World Athletics mentioned it obtained 141 submissions from photographers representing 41 international locations. A judging panel, made up of former world champions and digital creators, narrowed the sector to a shortlist of 10 earlier than deciding on the ultimate three. The winner might be introduced on World Athletics’ platforms throughout the World Athletics Awards on Nov. 30 in Monaco.
