17 December 2024 – Guided by world-class mentors and strongly supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a group of talented young photographers brought to life the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games like never before this summer. With their creative lens, the eight aspiring professionals, including five women, captured the unique moments of the event, including dramatic sporting action, iconic venues, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. As a result, hundreds of exceptional photos were taken, some of them earning recognition from leading photo agencies and earning spots in top newspaper headlines.

“I just graduated from two years of photography school in Paris,” said Louise Raymond, one of the participants. “I love sport and even more sports photography, and I think you are a better photographer when you can do sports photography. This is why this programme is really helpful for our careers”.

The group was selected by the IOC to join the Olympic Information Service (OIS) Sports Photography Training Programme, to inspire and empower the next generation of photojournalists.

The photos were made available on the OIS website and distributed to media outlets, marking a significant contribution to the coverage of the Paralympic Games and highlighting even more the inspiring achievements of Paralympic athletes.

The quality of photography was exceptional. We are extremely grateful to the IOC for this tremendous initiative which broadens the reach and impact of the Paralympic Games across global media and creates opportunities for future generations of photographers.

Craig Spence, IPC Chief Brand and Communications Officer

Benefiting from the advice of world-class mentors

The eight promising photographers, aged 22 to 25, were given the opportunity to gain unparalleled hands-on experience, capturing the spirit of the Games under the guidance of world-class mentors.

Mentorship was provided by a team of experienced professionals, led by award-winning sports photographer Bob Martin and including Joel Marklund and Adrian Dennis.

Martin, who first captured the Olympic Games during Seoul 1988, was impressed by the efforts of the young students: “They’re incredibly enthusiastic, and we whittled them down from hundreds to find these guys,” he said.

When they do well, it’s an incredible buzz for me. It’s a lovely thing to see somebody evolve, to take better pictures than the day before. And the speed at which they’re progressing is quite daunting to me.

Bob Martin

For Lillie Yazdi, one of the participants from Los Angeles, the chance to learn from mentors such as Martin during the Paralympics was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“I started in sports photography just a few years ago,” she said. “I didn’t know that Bob was leading the programme, but I’d already known of him because he is one of the world’s most famous sports photographers. I was so excited because I knew that if I had the opportunity to come here that learning directly under him is like an opportunity I could never get anywhere else.”

Building skills through real-world experience

The programme began with two days of intensive training, where mentors introduced the participants to the nuances of sports photography and outlined their roles during the Games. Throughout the Paralympics, each participant shadowed mentors, covered various sports and worked closely with the OIS photo editing team to learn the end-to-end process of creating and distributing professional-quality images.

Over the course of the Games, the participants captured iconic moments from professional vantage points using equipment provided at no cost by Canon, Sony and Nikon.

By the final days of the programme, the participants were undertaking independent assignments, demonstrating their ability to apply their newly acquired skills. The result was a wide collection of images that were featured on the OIS photo platform and shared with global audiences as part of the Paralympic Games’ official photo feed.

With women making up five of the eight participants, the programme also took an important step toward addressing the underrepresentation of women in sports photography, where they currently account for only 15 per cent of accredited professionals at the Olympic Games.

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A lasting legacy for host cities and young photographers

The OIS Sports Photography Training Programme was launched as part of the IOC’s ongoing commitment to education and gender equality.

Developed as a legacy initiative for Paris 2024 and future host cities, it aimed to provide participants with both technical skills and practical experience in sports photography. The selected photographers, with no experience at major sports events, were chosen from a competitive pool based on their portfolios and interviews.

The group included five students from Paris, two from Los Angeles (the host city of the Olympic Games in 2028), and one from Uganda, who was selected through the IOC Young Reporters Programme for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026.

The success of the programme at Paris 2024 sets a strong foundation for its continuation at future Games, aiming to expand its impact and uphold its educational and legacy objectives for host cities. Plans are already underway to implement the initiative at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games with a similar format, focusing on participants from Italy, as well as France and the United States as future host countries of the Olympic Games.

The photography training programme also builds on the IOC’s broader efforts to develop the next generation of sports media professionals. Initiatives like the IOC Young Reporters Programme, which has been held during the YOG since Singapore 2010, provide aspiring journalists and photographers with training, mentorship and opportunities to report on the Games.

Capturing the spirit of the Games

The OIS plays a key role in supporting media coverage during the Games, delivering comprehensive sports reporting, photography and editorial services to support media coverage during the Games. By producing high-quality images, conducting athlete interviews and distributing press conference materials, the OIS ensures that the stories of the Olympic and Paralympic Games are accessible to global audiences.

The Sports Photography Training Programme extends this mission by providing young photographers with practical training and hands-on experience in capturing key moments of the Games.