MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Sputnik’s Russian photojournalist Vladimir Pesnya was the best in the Sports category. His award-winning photo story, titled "Vetluga's Hockey," features amateur hockey players from a western Russian town.
"I take an interest in the topic of amateur sports in general… especially because hockey is our national sport," Pesnya told RIA Novosti.
The World Press Photo Foundation has its headquarters in Amsterdam. It has been organizing international photo contests since 1955 to develop and promote the work of visual journalists.
An international panel of judges, chaired by AFP photo director Francis Kohn, picked winners from over 80,000 submissions by 5,700 photographers from almost 130 countries. The prize-winning photos of the 59th photo contest will be exhibited in 45 countries.
