After departing Athens, Greece on October 30th, the Olympic Flame has been traveling across Canada, now about 1/3 of the way into its 106-day, 26,000 km overland relay (another 18,000 km by air). Over 12,000 torch-bearers will carry the flame along a winding path covering all of Canada, passing through over 1,000 communities total - from Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary to smaller communities such as Gwa'Sala-Nakwaxda'xw, Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Moose Jaw and Sheshatshiu. The final destination: Vancouver's BC Place on February 12, 2010, where it will light the Olympic Cauldron and signal the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Expect a follow-up post early next year, covering the rest of the journey. (33 photos total) [Editor's note, Big Picture will be on break until 12/14/09]

The 2009 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are taking place right now in London, England (until October 18th). London's O2 arena is housing a total of 437 gymnasts from 72 delegations competing for medals in ten events, plus the men's and women's individual all-around medals. The championships at the O2 Arena are seen as a preview of 2012, when London will host the Olympic games, and the O2 will house both basketball and gymnastic events. Collected here are some photographs of training and qualifying rounds from this year, the 41st World Championships. (36 photos total)

As the summer crawls into its later stages, the weather outside is heating up (in the Northern hemisphere at least). Cool waters call out to those who would leap in, momentarily letting gravity have its way with them, pulling them down as they flail, shout or twist. Collected here are a handful of photos of divers around the world, showing their professional artistry, daredevil bravado, or just simple joy as they take the plunge. (35 photos total)

The 96th Tour de France cycling race is currently underway, with the final, 21st stage of the 3,445 km (2,141 mi) race coming up on Sunday, July 26th. At this time, Alberto Contado of Kazakh team Astana appears to be headed toward a second tour title, currently leading riders Andy Schleck of Team Saxo Bank and Luxembourg and, in 3rd place, Lance Armstrong, also of team Astana. Armstrong's recent emergence from retirement to return to this year's tour has been the focus of much of this year's media coverage. 180 riders in twenty teams started in Monaco on July 4th, heading for the final ride into Paris this weekend. Collected here are a handful of images from the 2009 race. (40 photos total)

South Africa is currently hosting the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, an international soccer tournament held every four years. The Confederations Cup is regarded as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, also hosted by South Africa - the first World Cup to be held in Africa. Expectations are high as preparations, stadium construction and planning for both tournaments have recently picked up pace. With soccer fever sweeping through the country, you'll find here some recent scenes of South Africans enjoying football as both participants and fans. (28 photos total)

Last Monday, May 25th, the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake was held near Gloucester, England. In a tradition that dates back at least 200 years, possibly much longer, groups of fearless competitors chase an 8 pound (3.5 kg) round of Double Gloucester Cheese down an extremely steep and uneven hill, with a 1:1 gradient in some parts. Thousands of spectators gather to watch the five downhill and four uphill races, and to celebrate the winners and console the losers afterward. Injuries such as broken bones and concussions are commonplace, but the event continues to grow in popularity. The winner of each race is awarded the delicious round of cheese they were chasing. (17 photos total)

The 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race has arrived in Boston Harbor. Boston is the 6th port city for the eight teams which will race around the globe for nine months over 37,000 nautical miles split into 10 legs. The ships they sail are Volvo Open 70 class racing yachts, 21.5 meters (70.5 feet) long, manned by a crew of 11. While the ships are in port, they hold in-port races as well as hosting events and entertainment for local residents. Tomorrow (Saturday, May 9th), the fleet will hold its in-port race in Boston Harbor, and later, on May 16th, they will depart for leg 7 of the race, to Galway, Ireland, concluding the race in St. Petersburg, Russia in late June. Oskar Kihlborg, team photographer for Ericsson Racing with nearly 15 years experience as a sailing photographer has been kind enough to share the following photos with us. (31 photos total)
[Author's note: I will be on vacation next week. Big Picture entries will resume May 18th.]

Last Saturday, May 2nd, the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. In an improbable ending, Jockey Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird - a 50-1 longshot - to a huge victory, coming from dead last to win by 6 3/4 lengths. The Kentucky Derby is often billed as "the most exciting two minutes in sports", and Borel and Mine That Bird did their best to live up to that standard. Collected here are a few photographs leading up to the Kentucky Derby, and of the race itself. (29 photos total)

The 2009 Formula One World Championship season has held only 4 rounds so far (of a scheduled 17), and has experienced extremes of dry and wet weather already - heavy downpours in Malaysia and China, followed by dry desert heat of over 37 degrees C (100 F) in Bahrain. Brawn GP team driver Jenson Button currently leads the standings, winning 3 of the first four rounds. The next round will be the Gran Premio de España in Barcelona Spain on may 10th. Collected here are photographs from the most recent three races. (31 photos total)

As winter begins to wind down, we are still in the middle of sled dog racing season. The Iditarod in Alaska had its ceremonial start in Anchorage last Saturday (the 7th), the Yukon Quest race from Canada's Yukon Territory to Alaska took place back in mid-February, and the Can-Am Crown races were held in Maine only a couple of weeks ago. The most well-known of the races, the Iditarod Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, covers 1,868 km (1,161 mi), and takes anywhere from 8 to 12 days for mushers and their teams of 16 dogs to complete. Collected here are several photos from recent sled dog races and training sessions around the Northern Hemisphere. (28 photos total)

Billed as "the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world", the Tough Guy Challenge took place yesterday, February 1st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Thousands of challengers (men and women) started the endurance race, with hundreds dropping out along the way due to exhaustion or injury - broken bones, dislocations, and over 600 cases of hypothermia. Even the overall winner, James Appleton, was treated briefly for hypothermia. The course takes racers through 21 obstacles - through mud, freezing water, across ropes and burning terrain. The challenge is also a fundraiser for charity, with funds going to the Mr. Mouse Farm for Unfortunates, which looks after hundreds of retired horses and provides jobs to young offenders. Here are a handful of photos from yesterday's race. (20 photos total)

Last December the maxi yacht "Wild Oats XI" won the 2008 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, sailing 630 nautical miles (1,170 km) in one day, 20 hours and 34 minutes. The Volvo Ocean Race, a 10-leg round-the-world race started in October and will continue until June. The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 will start in April, and training sessions are now underway. Sailing as a modern and historic undertaking is alive and well around the world, here are a few photos of sailing events from the past year. (30 photos total)

The Dakar Rally was traditionally an off-road multi-stage race from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. However, due to fears of terrorist attacks, the Rally was cancelled last year - and this year moved to an entirely different continent, South America. 540 teams started the 2009 Dakar Rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 3rd, and, after 9,578 kilometres (5,951 mi) in 14 stages, will return to Buenos Aires on January 17th. Back in France, a small group of die-hard African Rally fans decided to stage their own version of the Dakar, folllowing the traditional route despite any terrorist threat, and have dubbed their version the "Africa Race", and 27 drivers started out from Marseille, France on December 28th. Here are some photographs of the official Dakar Rally (in South America), and a few of its shadow competition, the Africa Race. (30 photos total)

The International Ski Federation (FIS) is now holding the 2008-09 Ski Jumping World Cup - the 30th season to date. This World Cup season began on November 29th in Kuusamo, Finland, and will run through 28 competitions ending on March 22nd in Planica, Slovenia. Top jumpers can regularly make jumps of about 140 meters (460 feet). The current overall leader (individual) is Simon Ammann of Switzerland. (30 photos total)

About a month ago in Bali, Indonesia, the inaugural 2008 Asian Beach Games came to its conclusion. Intended to promote sports and culture, the games (held every two years) encourage tourism, support local economies and allow host countries like Indonesia to present a more global face to the world. The 2008 games brought 6,000 athletes to compete in 71 events in 19 sports. Sports included well-known games like beach volleyball and triathlon, and some sports better known to asians, like sepak takraw, kabaddi and pencak silat. The next Asian Beach Games are scheduled to be hosted by Oman in the year 2010. (25 photos total)

The Red Bull Air Race, started in 2003, is a series of air races, held all over the world, where pilots fly specialized aerobatic planes (with top speeds of over 250 mph / 400 kph) through a series of gates, racing the clock, accumulating points toward the championship title. Pilots must also perform specific manoeuvres while passing through the gates. The photos below are from the most recent two races, in Budapest, Hungary, and Porto, Portugal. The final race in the series is scheduled for November 1st, in Perth, Australia, and video of the event will also be streamed over the web. (17 photos total)

The sixteenth round of the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing (MotoGP) season was recently held on a track on the southern coast of Australia. The 2008 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix took place on Phillip Island, on the weekend of October 3rd, with several practice sessions earlier. Grand prix motorcycle has three classes, 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP - each with their own standings. Winners at the Phillip Island Circuit this year were France's Mike Di Meglio - 125cc, Italy's Marco Simoncelli - 250cc, and Australia's Casey Stoner in MotoGP. The 2008 Grand Finale will take place in Valencia, Spain on October 26th. (23 photos total)

Formula One Racing held its 800th race on Sunday in Singapore,with the Singapore Grand Prix - also the first Formula One race held at night. Organizers built, then lined a 5 kilometer track with over 1,600 lamps, said to be four times brighter than those used at football stadiums. Twenty drivers drove 61 laps for a total of 309 kilometers at speeds sometimes approaching 300 kilometers per hour - in a country that once banned the sport, in part for promoting reckless driving. Driver Fernando Alonso of Renault won the race with a time of 1:57:16.304. (25 photos total)

From September 6th to September 17th, Beijing is once again hosting athletes from around the world. Over 4,200 athletes - from six different disability groups - from 148 countries are taking part in the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games. Not only are the sports divided into events, but the events are divided into different disability categories, to even out the playing field as much as possible. The slogan for this years Paralympic Games is the same as the one for the Olympics held just last month: "One World, One Dream". (36 photos total)

Spectators at the fencing competition at the Olympics are often treated to some dramatic, emotional scenes - played out by passionate competitors dressed all in white, hi-tech gear, meeting inside a large darkened stadium. It also makes for some dramatic imagery, which I'll share with you here -- 16 scenes from recent women's fencing matches in Beijing. (16 photos total)

Beijing held its formal opening ceremony today for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The ceremony, held in the National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest, was attended by thousands, and watched by millions more on television. Below are some highlights of the nearly 4-hour performance. (24 photos total)

Riding big waves or small, or riding the wind and catching some air, people across the world have been busy surfing over the past few months - in competitions, as therapy, or just for serious fun. Here, you'll find a collection of images of people recently enjoying the surf in several ways. (23 photos total)

The 2008 Tour de France cycling race is now over, won by Spain's Carlos Sastre, with a time of 87h 52m 52s. Sastre beat second-place finisher Cadel Evans of Australia by only 58 seconds, over a 21 stage course that added up to over 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles). This entry covers the second half (including mountain stages) of the Tour - for earlier coverage, see part I. (27 photos total)

Final preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics are in full swing in Beijing. This includes completing hundreds of construction projects, reconstructions, pollution controls, cultural training, and a general "beautifying" of greater Beijing. Rehearsals and drills take place daily as Chinese citizens hurry to finish up - after all, the whole world is coming soon. The Olympics are set to begin on August 8th. (24 photos total)

France is currently hosting the 95th Tour de France - which began on July 5th, and continues through July 27th. The Tour is the world's largest cycle race, with twenty teams of nine riders (invitation-only) entered in this year's race. Ten riders have dropped out so far, including one suspension for a doping offense. (18 photos total)

Pamplona, Spain is hosting its annual Festival of San Fermin, most famous for its "Running of the Bulls", an 800-meter chaotic dash from corral to bullring through the narrow streets of Pamplona. Once the bulls arrive at the Plaza de Toros, they are again corralled until the afternoon's bullfights (corridas). The festival, started in the sixteenth century, opened this year on July 6th, and more than a dozen participants have been seriously injured so far, with one death (due to a fall from a wall). It will continue until July 14th. (14 photos total)

Two world records were set yesterday in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the men's 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:05.25, and Katie Hoff qualified for her second Olympics with her own world record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:31.12. The trials will continue through July 6th. (13 photos total)

Indiana University recently hosted the 2008 USA Diving Olympic Team Trials, and the process of selecting the diving team to represent the United States is underway. (10 photos total)

The Boston Celtics took their 2008 NBA trophy on a victory lap through downtown Boston today, a rolling rally in Duck Boats from the TD Banknorth Garden to Copley Square. Their 131-92 win against the L.A. Lakers on Tuesday brought home the 17th championship for the Celtics, the first since 1986. (16 photos total)

Switzerland met Turkey in their second Euro 2008 Group A match on June 11th in Basel, Switzerland. The skies opened up and poured down as the game continued on, making for dramatic images. Turkey went on to win the match, 2 goals to 1. The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, (Euro 2008) began June 7th and is scheduled to conclude June 29th. (15 photos total)

People (and animals) all over China and the rest of the world are preparing in various ways for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, which begins August 8th. (18 photos total)