Pictures Of The Year

Sports photography is fundamentally improvisational—informed by intense anticipation. It's all about getting the picture. To paraphrase the great Henri Cartier-Bresson, to make a brilliant image is to capture, in a fraction of a second, the significance of an event. There is no more difficult challenge in photojournalism. And this is the joy of SI's 2007 Pictures of the Year. However the details are organized within the composition, the shooter got the picture.

10.27.07
Reflected Flight

Swimmers soared off their blocks in the men's 50-meter breaststroke at the seventh Arena Sprint Meeting in Rouen, France, where the nation's top swimmers competed at short distances.

6.12.07
NBA Finals

The Spurs' Tim Duncan (left) tried to wrest the ball from the Cavaliers' Sasha Pavlovic in Game 3 of the championship series, which was swept by San Antonio.

3.28.07
A Moment's Peace

Children in Mogadishu played pickup soccer in a field not far from streets wracked by Somalia's sectarian violence.

9.29.07
Cal at Oregon

Bears senior tailback Justin Forsett (20) charged into the Ducks defense before a yellow-clad crowd in Eugene. In a battle of unbeaten teams, Cal defeated Oregon 31--24.

8.29.07
World Track Championships