Competitive sports and the athletes that compete in them have always impressed the masses with their displays of skill and grit. People are always present to film these games while others decide to use incredibly high-power cameras. And it’s a good thing that they do. From wardrobe malfunctions to near-misses with extreme danger, to even funny freeze-frames, these are a series of sports photos that are perfectly timed. And they look absolutely incredible.
Accepting One’s Fate
Bullfighting is no joke, and it’s incredibly dangerous. Given their great strength and how volatile a bull can be, you have to be particularly agile to even go into the same room as one. Which is what makes this image of a man jumping straight at a bull’s front all the more interesting.
Having Fun With The Mascot
Not every team has a mascot, but those that do often do the best that they can to have fun and invigorate the crowd. Like this bear mascot here, running away with this young woman as her friend watches.
No Longer Riding The Bull
On the subject of bulls, bull riding can be an equally as dangerous endeavor. It’s hard enough to stay on a mechanical bull, so staying on a real one is both more difficult and more dangerous. Just ask this guy that fell headfirst off of one.
Fan Of The Sport
Alright, this one may be cheating a little, since it’s technically two photos, but you do sort of need to look at both to get the full picture. It just seemed as though this fan was a little bit overzealous and ran onto this soccer field. And of course she got immediately carted away. But the real distracting thing is her choice in wardrobe.
Doused In Gatorade
The traditional dousing of one’s coach in Gatorade is a fun spectacle after a Super Bowl. However, it’s very rare to get a photo of the coach mid-dousing. It looks like they’re swimming in it.
It’s Definitely Broken
They say to keep your eye on the ball. Well, ordinarily that’s to make sure it doesn’t hit you in the face. With how hard a baseball can be thrown or hit, this player’s nose was certainly broken after the ball hit him squarely in the face.
Ride That Wave
Surfing’s a fun pass time to do on the beach. But have you ever seen someone surf with a dirt bike? Robbie Maddison is a stuntman and skilled rider using a specialized dirt bike to churn the water underneath his wheels. Even with the right equipment, not a lot of people could probably pull this off.
Unflinching
Don’t worry, this freeze frame didn’t lead to any contact. As a matter of fact, Kobe Bryant’s unflinching visage makes the photo even more impressive. Matt Barnes tried to psyche him out, but Bryant just didn’t budge.
Cracking The Skull
Trained fighters are able to hit hard in important parts of the body. And when those trained fighters land a blow, you can see it ripple out from the point of contact. Literally. It looks like the face of the skull on this fighter’s back has had its cheek caved in.
Breeching
Surface tension is an interesting thing. You don’t exactly just phase through the water the way people think. And this image of Tyler Clary breaking through the water makes it look more like a gel than a true liquid.
Caught In The Act
Bring Him Down
A fan just outright running onto the field during a game is both dangerous and obnoxious. Some people just really want their five minutes of fame that badly. But when those people rush onto the field, well, anything goes.
Misbehaving Ponytail
Tennis is a surprisingly intense sport. A single mistake or a second of hesitation can spell defeat. So, this woman’s ponytail going into her face and covering her eyes is certainly not good for her.
Crashing In The Sand
Did she trip? Did she fall after jumping really high? Falling during a game of beach volleyball isn’t that strange, but that much sand getting kicked up is what’s really interesting.
Not Even A Foul Ball
This man wanted a souvenir ball too bad. This Cub fan was willing to drop his kid and interfere in the game. It wasn’t even a foul ball, nor was the ball in the stands. And you can see that he just barely caught it over the player. No glove even. Maybe he should be in the major leagues with an arm like that.
Focus!
Weird pose aside, it’s really the face of this man that makes the photo. It almost looks like he’s making the ping pong ball float with his mind. That’s the true mark of focus of a table tennis player.
Plandid Or Candid?
This girl turned around to look over her shoulder at the exact right moment during this soccer game. Her looks and pose made it seem almost like it was planned. Could’ve been, but who’s to say?
It’s The Tour De France
This is another situation wherein the fans really bothered the athletes. In the Tour de France, fans have a tendency to both run after and heckle the cyclists. The man in the green headband is an example of that. And the man in the blue sticking his leg out to trip him is also an example of that.
Four Arms
It’s just your eyes playing tricks on you. This soccer player doesn’t actually have four arms (not that they would help that much in this sport). It’s just two players holding out their arms to the side, but the photographer really got this image taken at the perfect time.
Nice Catch
Looks like someone lost their grip on their bat at this Angels game. Fortunately for the other people in the stands, this one man reached his hand up and stopped the bat from hitting the man behind him.
Use Your Noggin
Women’s soccer isn’t as popular as it’s male counterpart, but it certainly isn’t any less entertaining. It’s just as aggressive and crazy as male soccer. Otherwise you wouldn’t get images like this two players slamming their heads into the ball.
A Flattering Image
Despite the size of the ball, shot put isn’t exactly an easy sport. It’s actually a lot heavier than it looks. And you can see the man here is trying his hardest. Well, sports normally aren’t very pretty in the first place.
Twisted Pitch
Chris Sale is one of the best pitchers in modern baseball. He’s got a hard and accurate throw that allows him to dominate the game. Pitching seems pretty simple in practice, but the actual motion is actually incredibly unnatural and taxing. Just look at how Sale’s arm is bent in this image.
Barely Hanging On By A Dread
Sometimes when playing football, you just miss the tackle. Your opponent was just too fast or too nimble. You reach out to grab onto anything you can, as a last ditch effort to stop your target. And in the case of this Bengals player, he grabbed onto the receiver’s dread.
A Supreme Dunk
You often hear about “backboard shattering dunks” when it comes to basketball. But it rarely ever happens. Basketball backboards are made of sturdier stuff than that. But catching a backboard and rim in the process of being destroyed is quite the sight.
High Dive
Olympic diving is a bit more difficult than one might expect. You just do a ton of acrobatic maneuvers in the few seconds you have before you hit the water. And you’ve got to stick the landing. Just look at this man’s face, he’s absolutely feeling the pressure.
Turned Around
Another scenario where you just grabbed onto the receiver. Apparently this Saint accidentally pulled his target’s helmet all the around his head. That’d certainly make it more difficult to run to the end zone.
Off From His Head
Shouldn’t football helmets be more secure? They’re supposed to protect your heads after all. And this one just flew off. Looks like it’s going to hit the quarterback too.
Like Looking In A Mirror
Wakeboarding and other water activities can be dangerous, but also fun if you know how to do them properly. Here we’re either witnessing absolute skill or a happy accident. If the former, he must really like looking at himself in the mirror.
The Headless Gymnast
Do not be alarmed, they aren’t actually missing a head. Doing this maneuver just made them tilt their head back enough it wasn’t visible in this shot. However, that still speaks volumes for how flexible this person is.
Balancing Act
Well, if they’re not balancing the soccer ball, it just slammed into the top of their head. There does appear to be a lot of sweat spraying off of it.
Photo Bomb
Except the photo bomb isn’t a person, it’s a ball! Hopefully that training day baseball didn’t hurt her too much. She just wanted to get a cute selfie.
Take It Like A Champ
Nothing says awesome like taking a punch to the face and not even reacting. Even with his mouth and nose scrunching up, this mixed martial artist is acting like that punch meant nothing to him.
Shot In The Wrong Direction
Must’ve been a good hit. Too bad the golf ball’s headed straight towards the camera. Let’s hope he didn’t break the lens, those are expensive.
Flaming Farts
Jeez, what did this guy eat? One player got pretty excited at this Saints game. And when he jumped up, a spurt of fire appeared behind him. Perhaps this is the most perfectly timed photo on this list.
Just Enough Time To See It Coming
Most of the time when you get a picture like this, the person about to be hit never saw it coming. But this woman, while the volleyball was headed towards her face, she saw it coming. And it looks like she didn’t have time to react to it either.
Soccer Bash
This guy might not have seen this soccer ball coming, but he certainly felt it. The amount of vibration in his face seems to denote that he got hit really hard.
Goalie Grabs
It looks like the goalie in this soccer game grabbed onto the wrong thing. Either that, or he had a genius idea for blocking the ball… maybe not genius. Maybe it was just aggressive.
Put Your Hands Up
Looks like this gymnast is a bit too buff for his own good. Him lifting his arms up before starting his routine is perfectly normal, but the photo that was taken wasn’t particularly flattering.
