100 Best Sports Photographs of 2010 (Part 1 of 4)

In this first installment of the 100 Best Sports Photographs of 2010, I bring you the best 25 pictures from January, February, and March. Three more installments will follow. This isn't easy, believe me. And although I'm calling it the 100 best, it's a totally subjective and biased selection, with the hard-working committee (made up of, well, just me) both nominating and judging the entries in isolation. I cringe thinking of all the amazing pictures I left out. Ultimately, I value variety, intensity, humor, and majesty. In the coming days I'll post three more entries of 25 pictures each as I celebrate the work of brilliant photographers worldwide. ( 25 photos total)

Drag racing comes to the main straight of Randwick Horse racing course during the Pink Stiletto race day in Sydney February 26 in a fundraiser for an HIV charity. (REUTERS/Tim Wimborne)

Dogs pull a sled using traditional harnesses February 4 in Iqaluit, Canada. (AP Photo/Rob Gillies) #

Marathon ice skaters race January 30 during the alternative marathon on Lake Weissensee in Techendorf, Austria. (VINCENT JANNINK/AFP/Getty Images) #

Athletes start the 70km Marcialonga cross-country ski competition in Val di Fiemme, Italy January 31. (AP Photo/Mario Facchini) #

Players from the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers fight for a rebound during an NCAA basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena February 27 in Knoxville, Tenn. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images) #

Evgenia Kanaeva of Russia performs with the ribbon during the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary March 7. (REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh) #

Kids play football inside an abandoned house in a poor neighborhood outside Tundavala Stadium in Lubango, Angola January 14. (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images) #

A villager tries to control a bull during a bull-taming festival on the outskirts of Madurai town, India January 16. The annual bull-taming festival is celebrated as part of south India's harvest festival of Pongal. (REUTERS/Babu) #

Mounted Kyrgyz men fall during a game of the traditional Central Asian sport Kok-Boru in Bishkek March 24 celebrating Kyrgyzstan's Revolution Day holiday. The riders compete to be first to throw a stuffed sheepskin into a well. (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/Getty Images) #

Domingo Pianezzi rides a wave with his alpaca Pisco at San Bartolo beach in Lima March 16. (REUTERS/Pilar Olivares) #

Yohann Taberlet of France practices during a training run for the men's downhill sitting prior to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics at Whistler Creekside March 10 in Whistler, Canada. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) #

Marco Fois dives into the Tiber River as part of traditional New Year celebrations from one of Rome's many bridges January 1, continuing an annual tradition which dates back to 1946. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile) #

Sandboarder Matt Walton soars over Eqypt's Al Katania dunes January 18. (REUTERS/Tarek Mostafa) #

Owen Wright (left) avoids a collision with Mick Fanning during the final of the Bondi Beach SurfSho March 14 in Sydney. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) #

Julien Lopez crashes during a freeride contest on the Bec des Rosses mountain in Verbier, Switzerland March 20. (REUTERS/Valentin Flauraud) #

Spain's Miquel Delas (bottom) reacts after colliding with England's Ashley Jackson during their match at the Hockey World Cup in New Delhi March 8. (REUTERS/Danish Ismail) #

American Carli Lloyd (left) fights for the ball with Norway's Solveig Gulbrandsen during their Algarve Women's Soccer Cup match in Olhao, Portugal February 26. (REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro) #

A traditional Indian wrestler smears dirt on himself during a practice session in Calcutta March 30. Hindus across the country are celebrating Hanuman Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Hindu God Hanuman, a day considered especially important for traditional wrestlers and bodybuilders. (AP Photo/Sucheta Das) #

Lolo Jones of the US celebrates winning gold in the 60m hurdles final during the IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire Dome March 13 in Doha, Qatar. (Ian Walton/Getty Images) #

A fan watching on television in a coffee shop in Cairo reacts after Egypt beat Ghana in the African Cup of Nations soccer final in a match played in Luanda, Angola January 31. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) #

Trinidad and Tobago's Cleopatra Borel-Brown reacts as she competes in the shot put qualifying round at the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in the Aspire Dome in Doha March 13. (VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images) #

Teams struggle through the icy waters of the St. Lawrence river during the Quebec Winter Carnival ice canoe race February 7 in Quebec. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot) #

Michael Rhone of Benton High School grabs the corner of the mat as he is dragged back by Mason Beckman of Reynolds High School in their AA 119 lb. championship match March 13 in Hershey, Pa. at the PIAA High School Wrestling Championships. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) #

Curlers from the Port of Menteith curling club throw a stone during a match on the Lake of Menteith January 4 in Port of Menteith, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) #

Giniel De Villiers navigates a dune during the 8th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Antofagasta and Copiapo, Chile January 10. (NATACHA PISARENKO/AFP/Getty Images) #