Marc Aspland

Marc Aspland captures the fulfilment of a dream with his shot of British sprinter Keely Hodgkinson, trademark blonde ponytail flying, crossing the finish line to win gold in front of a packed stadium at the Paris Olympics.

By contrast, a photo of the Cambridge University men’s boat crew during bitterly cold early-morning training on the River Great Ouse near Ely shows the reality of sporting life away from the TV cameras. Captured with a drone camera positioned directly overhead, the shot focuses on the nine-strong team, their tops the same blue as the tips of their perfectly synchronised oars, but it also takes in the sweep of the surrounding fenlands, and the imposing Ely Cathedral silhouetted against the pink and gold sunrise.

A fiery sky and turquoise blue pitch presided over by a magnificent Eiffel Tower dominate Aspland’s photo of the semi-final of the men’s blind football. It’s a valedictory shot, nicely symbolised by the setting sun – a homage to both Paris and to the last days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Judges praised the “excellent variety” of his work, which, they said, demonstrate his “skills as a visual storyteller”. The image from the men’s blind football match was “outstanding.”