IT has been an epic 2016 in British sport – from Leicester’s title charge, to Euro 2016, to Andy Murray regaining the Wimbledon title to Team GB’s stunning Olympic haul.
And our man Dickie Pelham has been there every step of the way, framing the perfect shots and closing the shutters at the right nanosecond to give The Sun’s back pages those unique images.
Here, Pelham breaks down his favourite snaps of 2016 – and explains how he got them.
Framed for your enjoyment, below…
Claudia Fragapane, artistic gymnast
Spent many months following team GB Athletes on their way to Rio for the summer Olympic Games, Claudia was a dream to work with, making her do work out time and time again to achieve this image.
Adam Peaty, swimmer
Another of our Olympic heroes in training this time Adam Peaty who was training at Repton School at 5.30 am for his battle to win Gold in Rio. This picture was quite a dangerous picture to take
We had to hold Elinchrome studio lights over the swimming pool to create this image, one small slip from the assistants and we may have fried Adam to a cinder, I took no more than ten images every frame.
Anthony Joshua v Charles Martin
Anthony Joshua sends Charles Martin crashing to the canvas for the final time to claim the IBF heavyweight world championship.
This picture was extra special for me because I was at the O2 Arena 12 hours before the fight, to position a remotely radio triggered camera in the lighting rig. The camera was a Canon 1dx with a 50mm lens with pocket wizard triggers.
Leicester City lift Premier League trophy
Claudio Ranieri kisses the Barclays Premier League trophy during the celebration of Leicester City winning the title for the first time in their history.
This image captures a perfect reflection of his face in the trophy.
Manchester United lift the FA Cup after beating Crystal Palace
Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick lift the FA Cup for Manchester United with victory over Crystal Palace.
What makes this picture is seeing the lid of the famous old trophy sent crashing into club Wembley seats during the euphoria.
Picture taken on a Canon1dx with a 500mm lens.
Wales 1 Northern Ireland 0 – Euro 2016 second round
Wales beat Northern Ireland in Paris at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale celebrates victory and chases his daughter Alber Violet around the pitch during post-match celebrations. Taken with a Canon 1dx with a 70 200mm lens.
Related Articles
England knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland
England are knocked out in sensational fashion by Iceland and poor Jack Wilshere is caught between the Iceland players celebrating, which makes for this dramatic image.
Taken on a Canon1dx with 70,200mm lens.
Portugal 2 Wales 0 – Euro 2016 semi-finals
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the hearts of the Wales fans by heading home the first goal past a helpless Wayne Hennessey in the Euro 2016 semi-final.
This picture was taken again on a remote camera low to the ground, to capture the atmosphere of the stadium and the match.
Andy Murray wins Wimbledon for a second time
Game, set and match! Andy Murray wins his second tittle at SW19 by thrashing Milos Raonic on Centre Court, which sends him on his way to becoming the world’s No 1 tennis player for the year.
This picture was taken on a Canon 1dx Mk 11 with a 70, 200mm lens.
Adam Peaty wins 100m breaststroke gold in Rio
Let the Games begin! As pointed out earlier in this photo feature, I was following Adam Peaty for some months on the Road to Rio.
And it was great to see him smash the world 100m breaststroke record and win the first gold medal for Team GB at the Rio Olympics.
This image was taken on a Canon 1dxmk11 with a 500mm lens.
Mo Farah does the double-double
Mo Farah becomes a double-double Olympic champion by securing his second medal of the Rio Olympic Games in the men’s 5000 metres final, his fourth including two won at London 2012.
Five minutes after the race had finished and Mo had come back after his lap of honour, he ran up to the photographers in the stadium and jumped in mid-air. Most of the snappers missed this picture, so some and asked Mo to do it again, for a second time he was hanging his shoes around his neck and the image was not as good, thankfully.
Team GB women celebrate winning hockey gold
Great Britain win a historic Olympic hockey gold in dramatic penalty shoot-out against Holland.
It was like being at a Champions League final.
There were players running everywhere, jumping up and down celebrating to the tune of ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire,’ which was made famous during Euro 2016 by the Northern Ireland fans.
Picture taken on a Canon 1 dxmk11 with a 24.70mm lens.
Jason Kenny wins Olympic keirin gold in Rio
Jason Kenny crosses the line in the Olympic keirin final to capture his sixth Olympic gold medal, this was a very tense race as he avoided disqualification after Derny problems at the start.
Picture taken on a Canon 1dxmk11 with a 70 200mm lens.
Brownlee brothers collapse as they celebrate winning Olympic gold and silver
Alistair Brownlee becomes the first man to retain a Olympic triathlon gold medal ahead of his brother Jonathan in a dominant display on the Copacabana beach in Rio, with temperatures springing to over 85 degrees.
This image was very difficult to take, the sun was so high in the mid-day sky and the light reflected off the blue track, exposures at that time where totally unworkable.
This was taken on a Canon 1dxMk11 with a 300mm lens.
Joe Hart saves England against Slovenia with a stunning save
Joe Hart pulls off a save drawing comparisons to the great Englishman Gordon Banks against Brazil.
He first pulled it from under the bar, as the ball was coming down, in mid-air Joe managed to push the ball away just at the right moment.
Adam Lallana celebrates scoring the winner against Slovakia
Sam Allardyce takes charge of his first and last England game against Slovakia in the World Cup qualifiers.
It was Adam Lallana who saved England by scoring the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game.
Mobbed by Gary Cahill, Lallana then put his shirt above his head which made him look like a ghost.
Taken on a Canon 1dxmk11 with a 70.200mm lens.
Luis Conception vs Kal Yafai
My final picture of the year was of Kal Yafai who became Britain’s 16th world champion defeating Luis Concepcion, to win WBA super-flyweight world championship.
You can cover a fight and get nothing, this picture is top drawer as far as a boxing snap gets.
A right cross clean on the fighter’s jaw, with his face twisted in pain.
Taken on a Canon 1dxmk11.
Leave a comment