Sputnik Press-Office - Sputnik photojournalist Vladimir Pesnya took first place in one of the most prestigious photojournalism competitions — World Press Photo 2016 in the category "Sport" for a series of photos titled "Vetluga's Hockey."
The winning photo series depicts hockey-lovers from the Russian town of Vetluga 660 km away from Moscow during hockey games. For the coveted title, winners fought off more than 5,000 photographers from 128 countries, with the total number of applications exceeding 82 000. The awards ceremony will be held in Amsterdam on 22-23 April in a two-day celebration in honor of the 2016 winners. A photo exhibition of the winners of World Press Photo 2016 will tour 45 countries.
Sputnik photojournalist Vladimir Pesnya:
"I am extremely honored to win one of the world's most prestigious competitions in photography. I'm happy to have the opportunity to show to the world the Russia that I love. This victory means a lot for the development of photo journalism."
World Press Photo — This is the largest and most prestigious annual award in the field of photojournalism.
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