Live

In Pictures

Gallery

In Pictures: The world of sports in 2020

Sports went on in 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged and rearranged schedules, shortened seasons and cancelled tournaments. 

Athletic Club and Real Madrid play in an empty San Mames stadium during their Spanish La Liga football match in Bilbao, Spain, on July 5, 2020 [Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo]
Athletic Club and Real Madrid play in an empty San Mames stadium during their Spanish La Liga football match in Bilbao, Spain, on July 5, 2020 [Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo]
10 Dec 2020

The faces of sport in 2020, new and old, were familiar.

But the images that most defined this year, on and off the fields, diamonds, courts and courses all over the world, were not.

COVID-19 ravaged and rearranged schedules, shortened seasons and cancelled tournaments.

But after a brief hiatus, sport managed to go on.

Switzerland's Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the semi-final match at Rod Laver Arena as the sun sets at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia in January. [Andy Wong/AP Photo]
Switzerland's Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the semi-final match at Rod Laver Arena as the sun sets at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia in January. [Andy Wong/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce (L) celebrates with head coach Andy Reid after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in February 2020. [David J. Phillip/AP Photo]
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce (L) celebrates with head coach Andy Reid after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in February 2020. [David J. Phillip/AP Photo]
IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan practises on his racing simulator at his home in Indianapolis in March. [Michael Conroy/AP Photo]
IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan practises on his racing simulator at his home in Indianapolis in March. [Michael Conroy/AP Photo]
Leslie Amat, a Cuban triathlete, swims in a pool with straps that keep her from advancing, under the watch of her trainer Diosele Fernandez on the patio of her home in Havana, Cuba, in April 2020. [Ismael Francisco/AP Photo]
Leslie Amat, a Cuban triathlete, swims in a pool with straps that keep her from advancing, under the watch of her trainer Diosele Fernandez on the patio of her home in Havana, Cuba, in April 2020. [Ismael Francisco/AP Photo]
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaks on the scoreboard screen in an empty Sprint Center after cancelling the remaining NCAA college basketball games in the Big 12 Conference tournament due to the coronavirus. [Charlie Riedel/AP Photo]
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaks on the scoreboard screen in an empty Sprint Center after cancelling the remaining NCAA college basketball games in the Big 12 Conference tournament due to the coronavirus. [Charlie Riedel/AP Photo]
Cheerleaders perform to empty stands before the start of a baseball game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers in Tokyo in June. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]
Cheerleaders perform to empty stands before the start of a baseball game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers in Tokyo in June. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Naomi Osaka of Japan holds up the trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka in the women's singles final of the US Open in September. [Seth Wenig/AP Photo]
Naomi Osaka of Japan holds up the trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka in the women's singles final of the US Open in September. [Seth Wenig/AP Photo]
LA Lakers players celebrate after they defeated Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals in October. [Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo]
LA Lakers players celebrate after they defeated Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals in October. [Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo]
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto prior to the start of the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on November 1. [Rudy Carezzevoli/Pool via AP]
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto prior to the start of the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on November 1. [Rudy Carezzevoli/Pool via AP]
Gaelle Hermet of France catches the ball during the Women's Autumn Nations Cup rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham stadium in London in November. [Ian Walton/AP Photo]
Gaelle Hermet of France catches the ball during the Women's Autumn Nations Cup rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham stadium in London in November. [Ian Walton/AP Photo]
A man wearing a protective face mask walks past the Olympic rings on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, in Tokyo. The five Olympic rings are back in Tokyo Bay after they were removed for maintenance four months ago, shortly after the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]
A man wearing a protective face mask walks past the Olympic rings on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, in Tokyo. The five Olympic rings are back in Tokyo Bay after they were removed for maintenance four months ago, shortly after the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]
More from Gallery

In Pictures: Ethiopian children at refugee-run school in Sudan

An Ethiopian refugee grade four pupil attends a class at a makeshift school in Um Rakuba refugee camp in Gadaref, eastern Sudan. [Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP]

In Pictures: Ethiopian refugees in Sudan face uncertain future

"I am just a student. When the violence broke out, I ran for my life, and left my mother and sister behind. I am too scared to go back to Tigray," said Younas, an Ethiopian refugee sheltering in Sudan. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]

In Pictures: Violent anti-security bill protests in France

A demonstrator in Paris holds an umbrella and a sign reading: "For your safety you will have no more freedoms". [Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters]

In Pictures: Animal attacks take their toll in Kashmir

Saleema Bano, 58, said a bear attacked her when she was working in a field with her daughter, resulting in the loss of her left eye [Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo]
Most Read

US Senate backs massive arms sales to UAE after Trump veto threat

In this file photo from 2017, an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an aerial demonstration [File: Amir Cohen/Reuters]

UK PM Boris Johnson confuses India’s farmer protest with Pakistan

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the House of Commons in London on Wednesday [Jessica Taylor via Reuters]

Nigeria Shell employees causing oil leaks for profit: Dutch TV

Oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria [File: EPA/STR]

Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo wins re-election as 5 killed

Soldiers stand as supporters of the opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), protest outside Ghana's electoral commission ahead of official results in Accra on Wednesday [Francis Kokoroko/Reuters]