Commonwealth Games 2014: 25 of the best photos from Glasgow

As a picture editor, it's easy to become inured to the sight of boxers with pulverized faces. Nevertheless, this shot really leapt out from our picture wires. I think that's largely because of how vibrant the pool of blood is that covers the white of his eye; my first thought when I saw it was Terminator 2. Photograph: Tom Jenkins

A colleague of mine once described underwater diving photographs like this one as looking like Rorschach test results. It was a great visual analogy – though in this particular example that's not the attraction. I chose this photo simply because it captures the exasperated expression of Australia's Matthew Mitcham, who was one of the favourites in the men's 10m platform final, but who could only finish fourth. He might be underwater, but his face still says it all. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

From a picture of despair to one of unbridled joy ... this shot captures the moment Nigeria's Yinka Ayenuwa realises he's won silver in the men's weightlifting 69kg class. I love it that he's almost leapt over his compatriot in his excitement. Photograph: CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images

Mutliple-exposures are particularly great for gymnastics because they allow you to better appreciate the extraordinary skill and athleticism involved in the sport. This is a wonderful example. It's a shot of Anand Patel of the Isle of Man competing on the vault in the men's team gymnastics event, while in the background a woman competes on the vault. Capturing the trajectory of one athlete using this technique is tricky enough, but capturing both simultaneously makes this image really distinctive. Photograph: Tom Jenkins

This, of course, is a much simpler image, technically speaking, and it's one which trades entirely on a quirk of timing. If the gymnast's head were visible it would be just another routine shot, but with her head entirely obscured it's rather more eye-catching. I think the presence of the ball is quite critical, too. The ball acts as a peculiar substitute for her head – like it's some kind of bizarre illusionist's routine. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

It's pretty obvious why I like this image. Ross Murdoch's face after he won the men's 200m breaststroke is just fantastic. You seldom see an athlete look so shocked by their own achievements as this.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins

Whatever you think about selfies, there's something mildly amusing about the moment the Queen 'photobombed' this shot by Australian hockey players Jayde Taylor and Brooke Peris. It was one of the most talked about photographs from the Games, and so, for that reason alone, it's hard to dismiss. Photograph: @_Jayde Taylor and Brooke Peris//PA

Andy Turner was a picture of regret after failing to finish in the first round of the men's 110m hurdles. The photographer's vantage point forced him to shoot through the hurdles, but it worked a treat. Turner looks imprisoned by his failure. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Photographers often go looking for this kind of shot at diving competitions, but I have to say this example is really head and shoulders above the rest. The pitch black background is wonderfully offset by the shimmering water droplets – you couldn't light this better if you rigged it.
Photograph: Rogan Thomson/Actionplus

Sometimes little details are just as valuable as beautifully lit photographs. This is a nice shot of Ruby Harold chalking her feet before competing in the women's all-around final. A photograph like this would be ideal for a photo-essay on gymnastics; you always need a change of scale and pace for such things. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

I like how this photograph taken at Hampden Park turns the focus away from the high-jump action and onto the crowd. In doing so, I think it conveys the sense of anticipation which is fundamental to high-jump competitions. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Speaking of crowd photos, this shot from the rugby sevens at Ibrox Stadium is not the kind of thing you see every day. Start 'em young, I suppose. Photograph: Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

Here's a pearler of a photograph from the velodrome. It's both surreal and striking – and even though you may at first wonder how it was created, I don't think anyone really needs to know the specifics of the technique to appreciate it. Personally, I like it because of the circular motion, which seems apposite given the sport. The conversion to black and white, which was done in post-production prior to its transmission to us, is also very effective. (Spoiler alert: in case you really want to know, it was created using a slow shutter-speed while rotating the camera on an axis in the same direction as the cyclists.) Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Joyce Chepkirui of Kenya may have won the women's 10,000m but the desperation of her fellow Kenyan Florence Kiplagat to catch her seems to be exemplified in this shot. Kiplagat is tumbling over the line, but her outstretched arm almost makes it look like she's trying to physically catch her rival
Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

This is an example of great cropping more so than great photography. It's hard to be sure what the original frame looked like, but someone – either the photographer, the photo technician or the agency picture editor – had the foresight to hone in on the critical elements – the bizarre haircut, the eyeballs and the ping-pong ball – and thereby accentuate the shot. Frankly, anything beyond those details would have been superfluous. It's a picture which makes me laugh whenever I see it. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

This photograph of Brittany Robertson of New Zealand competing in the women's team gymnastic final uses a starburst filter to make the most of the already dramatic lighting at the SECC Precinct. A simple piece of kit for a striking result. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

I positively hate the advertising boards in the background of this image, and yet still I chose it ahead of a similar, much cleaner image, from a men's match. It's hard to explain why. I just think sometimes you have to stop hunting for perfection because otherwise you can overlook great photographs – and doing that would make us merchants of predictable, clinical images. So, the nasty background aside, I think this is a cracking action photograph. It's a picture of total sporting commitment from both competitors. Alex Danson is inches from the turf, but still she seems to be getting her shot away. The keeper, likewise, is refusing to give up hope. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

There are more dynamic images from the wrestling than this one, but few that are charged with such latent aggression. Heaven knows what Muhammad Salman of Pakistan is going to do if he escapes this hold. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea this is how a competitor with no arms would greet his opponents. In fact, I'd never even thought of a competitor with no arms playing bowls. But the many photographs of Bob Love from the Games have helped, like the 2012 Paralympics before them, to lift the lid on the remarkable world of para sport. Photograph: SNS Group Bill Murray/SNS Group

I wasn't in the office the day this photograph was sent in, but I'm told the editors debated whether or not it was too confusing to warrant publication in the newspaper. In my opinion there's no debate; it's a cracking image which succeeds entirely because of the initial uncertainty it induces. And you won't see a more symmetrical shot of this ilk. It was eventually printed, but there was a slight issue: it was situated across a double-page spread and, consequently, the centre of the image fell right down the gutter. Why's that an issue? Well, it almost looked like a printing error – as if wet ink had unintentionally offset from one page onto the next – and thus it might have confused one or two readers after all. Somewhat ironic. Photograph: Tom Jenkins

A beautiful shot using the low-slung sunlight inside Hampden Park. The combination of the elongated shadows, the silhouetted bodies and the golden hue of the track is quite something. In fairness, several photographers spotted the opportunity and created very similar shots, but this one is the richest in colour. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Husband and wife duo Chris and Gabrielle Adcock won the mixed doubles badminton title. I like the contrast between their expressions; Chris's outright joy and Gabrielle's disbelief. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Devoid of grace and seemingly heading for a heavy fall, this photograph of Australia's Olivia Vivian on the balance beam is one of the more wince-inducing images from the Games. It might seem a brutal choice, but sport is as much about failure as it is success. Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Like every other newspaper in the UK, we needed a good shot of Eilidh Child, the so called poster girl of the Games. She won silver in the 400m hurdles, but her celebration was relatively muted and consequently the photographic options we received weren't all that notable (unless you count the shot of her being offered a celebratory bite of a beef burger). The above picture was, for me, the best of the bunch. It at least catches a little of her slightly embarrassed delight at having pleased the expectant home crowd. If you're wondering why I've included it in the final cut when I'm not altogether taken by it, well, I've done so for the same reason that a shot of Child went in the paper: because sometimes the story completely outweighs the quality of the image. That is to say, sometimes newsworthiness is justification enough.
Photograph: Getty Images/Richard Heathcote

This photograph says so much about Usain Bolt and about the spectators who brought the Commonwealth Games to life. His performance on the track was rather unremarkable, but his interaction with the Hampden crowd was something altogether more memorable. It seems like a fitting shot to end the gallery on, but that isn't to say it's my favourite photograph from the Games; if anything, that would probably be the shot of the boxer, on account of its sheer bluntness. Photograph: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images