Norwegian Grott wins World Athletics Photograph of the Year

Vegard Grott’s evocative image of athletes competing in the Dream Mile has been selected as the 2025 World Athletics Photograph of the Year. 

The photograph, titled ‘Shadows’, captures the dramatic movement of athletes competing at the Bislett Games Diamond League meeting in Oslo. As in past years, the World Athletics Photograph of the Year shines a spotlight on exceptional images captured by professional photographers around the globe. 

From the 141 images that were submitted, a panel of judges – comprising two-time world 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson, four-time world triple jump champion Christian Taylor, photographer and Paris 2024 photo chief Pascal Rondeau, and World Athletics digital creative manager Christel El Saneh – selected Grott’s image for its emotional impact and powerful portrayal of athletic endeavour. 

“I’m truly honoured to receive this,” said Grott. “This year the Bislett Games was held over two days, and I’d shot some similar images on day one. On day two, the sun was a bit stronger and there was a packed crowd. I shot two laps of the race before the sun disappeared and this image ended up being one of them. 

“I’ve been shooting this event in Oslo for almost 15 years, but this was the first time the sun had been perfect for this kind of shot,” he added. “It’s also about intuition. I’ve seen some similar images, but had never taken one myself. It was one of those moments where everything comes together. 

“I shoot mainly football, but also a lot of athletics. Personally – and I can’t say this to my football colleagues – I prefer athletics, so winning this is a big deal and an honour. Thank you to the judges and to World Athletics.” 

Grott has been working as an agency photographer since 2011 and joined the ranks of Bildbyrån in 2017. Over the years, he has chronicled major sporting events – including multiple Olympic Games – and has served as team photographer for the Norwegian football team. On three separate occasions, his work has been recognised among the world’s best by Pictures of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association. 

Meanwhile, China was named as winner of the Member Federation Award.

The Member Federation Award recognises a Member Federation that has distinguished itself in its accomplishments throughout the year and, as a result, positively contributed to the growth and profile of the sport. Six federations were shortlisted for this year’s award, each nominated by one of the six Area Associations, before China was selected by the World Athletics Executive Board as the winner.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to World Athletics for awarding this award to the Chinese Athletics Association,” said the winning federation. “This honour is a full recognition of our work.

“In 2025, the successful hosting of the Nanjing World Athletics Indoor Championships and the Guangzhou World Athletics Relays demonstrated to the world China’s professional event-organising capabilities and boundless passion for athletics. Looking ahead, we will fully assist and support the organising committees of Beijing and Yangzhou in preparing for the World Athletics Congress and the World Athletics Championships to be held in Beijing, and the World Athletics Road Running Championships to be held in Yangzhou, in 2027. We will cherish this honour, make persistent efforts, and work with colleagues around the world to promote the development of global athletics.”

The Chinese Athletics Association demonstrated progress across five key areas in 2025: institutional innovation, event enhancement, youth development, gender equality and commercial collaboration.

Two World Athletics Series events – the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 and the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 – were capably and efficiently held in China, and Beijing hosted the final Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season. Two Diamond League events took place in Xiamen and Shaoxing/Keqiao, while China also welcomed athletes for three Platinum Label road races and one World Race Walking Tour Gold event.

Hundreds of track & field and road events were organised by the Chinese Athletics Association, attracting more than six million participants in total.

The World Athletics Kids’ Athletics Relay Around the World Challenge had its finale in Guangzhou, key measures to enhance athlete safety and rights protection were introduced, the representation of female athletes and officials steadily increased, and two national-level officiating training courses were conducted, resulting in 346 officials obtaining World Athletics Bronze Level certification.

In partnership with China Mobile, the federation enhanced numerous top-tier road races in branding, technology and communication, establishing a new model for association-corporate collaboration.

Further World Athletics Awards announcements will be made this weekend, with the World Athletes of the Year and Rising Stars revealed on Sunday