Photojournalists from Reuters won a number of awards this month at The British Press Photographers’ Association (BPPA), The Sports Journalists’ Association British Sports Awards (SJA) and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
Molly Darlington won the much-coveted Sport Photographer of the Year 2021 award in the BPPA contest for her portfolio of work that included the picture of Australian sisters, Anna-Maria and Eirini Alexandri, taken during the women’s duet in artistic swimming at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August. Reuters photojournalist Clodagh Kilcoyne was highly commended in this category, and Hannah McKay was highly commended for Covid-19 Essay of the Year.
Meanwhile, at the SJA awards, Darlington won the prestigious Young Sports Photographer of the Year award and also scooped the sought-after Olympic and Paralympic Portfolio award for her technical ability, use of colour and composition. Her work was all the more remarkable given how difficult it was to access the Tokyo Games.
“The main challenge was being out in Tokyo for 9 weeks in such high temperatures and Covid restrictions,” said Darlington.
She said that seeing her photos used in papers all over the world, and now recognised by the industry, felt like a great achievement. “To be shortlisted against some of the best photographers in the industry is incredible, let alone to win these awards. The Paralympics was an emotional event to photograph, and the athletes were truly inspirational. They inspired me to capture these images.”
In addition, Carl Recine snapped up a third victory for Reuters at the SJA with his ‘eclectic eye for the game’ highlighted by the judges for the Football Portfolio prize.
Finally, the NPPA’s 2022 Best of Photojournalism awards recognised the work of Reuters photojournalists in India who embedded themselves in local communities to capture the spread of the coronavirus disease. Adnan Abidi was honored with first place in the Breaking News Story category, and the late Danish Siddiqui, who was killed on assignment in Afghanistan in July, was awarded second place in the General News division, for their powerful photos documenting the impact of COVID in India.
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Kayley. Rogers @TR.com