2012 Sports Picture Story
First Place: Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
A man reaches out to touch the statue of Joe Paterno, the former Penn State football coach, shortly after hearing of 85-year-olds death.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Students and those in the community unite as they hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Katie Knobloch and Andrew Adameitz embrace during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Mourners gather around piles of signs, bouquets of flowers and other items left by fans at what became a make-shift memorial for Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
David Marselles (C) and Courtney O'Brien (L) share a moment with a cardboard cutout of Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Mourners walk inside to the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center before paying respect to former Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Mourners line the sidewalks of College Avenue on the campus of Penn State, as the procession carries former Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Concluding the public memorial for former Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno, the crowd joins hand-in-hand for the The Lord's Prayer.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Sue Paterno, widow of Joe Paterno, consoles her grandson following a public memorial for former Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky looks at the media as he leaves the Centre County Courthouse for his child sex abuse case.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Penn State students Andrew Hanselman and Maddy Pryor, and others react to the sanctions the NCAA announced against Penn State.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
First Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
The statue of former Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno stood sits empty after it was removed by workers outside Beaver Stadium.
Patrick Smith / Freelance
Second Place: Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - JULY 05: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on July 5, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - DECEMBER 17: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on December 17, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Dec. 22, 2011 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - OCTOBER 19: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on October 19, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - JULY 18: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on July 18, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - NOVEMBER 19: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on November 19, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - NOVEMBER 19: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on November 19, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - DECEMBER 17: Children rest at Fuzhou Sports School on December 17, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Dec. 22, 2011 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - DECEMBER 07: Children read comic books after trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on December 7, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - DECEMBER 17: Children rest at Fuzhou Sports School on December 17, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Second Place - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Jan. 16, 2012 - Fuzhou, China - FUZHOU, CHINA - JULY 04: Children take part in a trampoline training session at Fuzhou Sports School on July 4, 2011 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China. Fuzhou Sports School is a training base of the National Trampoline Team. (Credit Image: ChinaFotoPress/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Liu Tao / Zuma Press
Honorable Mention: Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
STORT SUMMARY: Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just a lungful of air. The DeJa Blue freediving competition is held annually off Grand Cayman Island, where athletes can push their limits under the careful supervision of multiple layers of safety divers...THIS IMAGE: Garo Hachigian, safety diver, acclimates (to the water and pressure) with pull-downs and practice dives around the competition area on a dive lines before the start of the DeJa Blue freediving competition. ltqmb "Life and Breath 1"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Safety Diver Tara Hodgins exhales before surfacing. Before freedivers surface, they exhale, so they can immediately inhale when they hit air. The first 3-6 breaths are called "hook breaths" as they inhale deeply and hold the air in for a pause - this increases the preassure in the body and lessons the chance of blacking-out. ltqmb "Life and Breath 2".
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Staff and safety divers acclimate (to the water and pressure) with pull-downs and practice dives around the competition area - platforms, red safety floats, and dive lines - before the start of the DeJa Blue freediving competition. Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just their own lungful of air. ltqmb "Life and Breath 3"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Carolina Schrappe lies unconcious at the surface after suffering a shallow-water blackout and was rescued by safety divers Garo Jack Hachigian and Ren Chapman. She was revived quickly and competing again the next day. ltqmb "Life and Breath 4"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Safety divers (R-L) Garo Jack Hachigian, Robert Lee, and Ren Chapman rescue Nick Mevoli after an extremely dangerous blackout nearly 30 meters under the surface. Securing his airway, they quickly swim him up to the surface where medical professionals and oxygen are waiting. Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just their own lungful of air. ltqmb "Life and Breath 5"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Nick Mevoli's blood floats on the surface after he was rescued from an extremely dangerous blackout nearly 30 meters underwater. Mevoli suffered a "squeeze" - blood vessels bursting in the throat and/or lungs under pressure at depth. ltqmb "Life and Breath 6"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Safety divers point for Steve Benson to avoid hitting judges or the surfacing station as he ascends. A touch from the Safety divers will disqualify an athlete, so unless there is a need for a rescue, avoidance is important. Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just their own lungful of air. ltqmb "Life and Breath 7"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Nick Mevoli "walks" up a dive-line while preparing for his target dive of 86 meters (286 feet) at Performance Freediving International's Deja Blue III, an international freediving competition. "It is something I do to relax - to remind me that this is fun, something I enjoy doing. It isn't just a competition." He went on to break the US Men's national record with a dive to 91 meters. Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just their own lungful of air. ltqmb "Life and Breath 8"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance
Honorable Mention - 2012 Sports Picture Story
Ashley Chapman celebrates completing her dive that broke the Women's Constant Weight No Fins World Record with a dive to 65 meters on one breath. Competitive Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving - where athletes swim to depths with no breathing apparatus, just their own lungful of air. ltqmb "Life and Breath 9"
Logan Mock-Bunting / Freelance