UTRECHT – He was favorite for Olympic gold on the mountain bike; Mathieu van der Poel. But that dream fell apart when the sportsman went down hard in front of Robin van Lonkhuijsen’s camera. The signature photo of the fall was perhaps the image of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. So it’s no surprise that the photographer has won the ‘NSP/Silver Camera Sports Photo of the Year’.
Born and raised Utrechter Robin van Lonkhuijsen has just returned from the exhibition in Museum Hilversum, which includes his prize-winning photo. The ANP photographer is of course happy with the price. “I’ve won something before, but it’s still a lot of fun.”
“Oooooh”, the crowd shouted
He remembers the moment of the photo well. “He arrived in the distance. You see something orange and pull with it,” he explains. “I heard the audience shout ‘ooooooh’ and only then saw that it was Van der Poel who went down. The place was quite difficult. “It was a blind spot for us.”
The photographer deliberately chose that spot, because that’s where the highest jump along the six-kilometer course was located. Was it luck, or craftsmanship? “It’s partly luck, of course, he falls in front of you. But I did consciously sit in that place,” he answers.
After realizing that the title favorite had fallen, Van Lonkhuijsen hopes that he has the moment. “I so hope it’s sharp, I thought. I quickly looked back at the photos and yes; razor sharp. Otherwise you can just throw it away.” The Utrechter immediately realized that it was a special photo. “The combination of a beautiful photo at such a decisive moment, that does not often coincide in sport. Very special.”
Compliments
He immediately received many compliments from colleagues and friends from the Netherlands. “Send it in for the Silver Camera”, they joked. And as of today, the photo hangs life-size in Museum Hilversum. Just like over 200 other press photos from the past year, including the winners of the Prize for Storytelling and the Paul Peters Photo Prize for social photography.
“It’s set up very nicely,” says the photographer about the exhibition. Voting for the audience award is still possible in the museum. Van Lonkhuijsen’s photo has also been nominated for that. Did he vote for himself? Laughing: “My girlfriend did that.”
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