"Waterpolo Warriors" by Adam Pretty

Water polo is one of the most physically demanding team sports played in either the World Swimming Championships or the Olympics. Athletes are constantly under attack, fighting for the ball or to keep their head above water, and scarcely have a moment to recover whether in attack or defence. I wanted to illustrate how demanding the sport was by concentrating on capturing it from underwater, where the majority of the sometimes brutal physical exchanges happen, away from the eyes of both referees. The action was captured here during the premier water polo event held at the Budapest 2017 World Swimming Championships.