Have you ever noticed the number of selfies it takes for you to get the perfect image of your face? Then, you probably know that oftentimes, instantaneous photos are not the greatest ones of yourself or your friends. Nevertheless, a well-timed snapshot does not necessarily mean that it will capture a perfect smile or the greatest instant of all times. Yet, in the world of sports, there are two types of perfect shots: the first depicts the greatest achievements of athletes after all that preparation and workout and the other - all the hilarious split seconds, with facial expressions you will never forget! Just scroll down and enjoy - don't miss the last one!

This catch should have a special name!

During many very important baseball games, especially in the World Series, we have witnessed great catches, yet, we think that nothing compares to this one! We are pretty sure that this catcher must give his name to this awesome move since not only was he able to catch the ball but also keep it safe while upside down – and with such grace! Talking about self-sacrifice, fitness, and extraordinary reflexes! Is this baseball or rhythmic gymnastics?

A pile of bodies

Yes, it is known, football is not the soft kind of sport and its players are tough and follow a good workout schedule to remain so. However, this does not mean that they are indifferent when it comes to getting injured. The injuries they might suffer from tough tackles, grabs or pile-ups like this one are very much dangerous! In this photo, we see –although difficult at first - Antwaan Randle El with his head almost twisted around his neck among a pile of bodies. Ouch, ouch!

He practices surfing when not racing!

You might think that motorcycle racing is fairly easy - not many rules to follow, a pretty straightforward sport. It does not even seem like a sport that demands exercising or following a certain diet. Nevertheless, motorcycle racing might include more than just riding your bike around a speedway. Just imagine how this fall might have gone if the rider’s reflexes were not spot-on! At first glance, it might look like he is surfing, however, falling from a speeding motorcycle is definitely dangerous.

Do your push-ups!

This is not funny at all! This is provocative! We don’t know about your health and fitness state, but we are almost at a point so low, we cannot even get down to do one push-up with both hands on the ground – much more go for a catch while performing a one-hand push-up. But just look at this catcher! Of course, there is no comparison; we are talking about an athlete here and he knows better than us: warming up is key!

Gymnastics are not always gracious!

We have no idea what it takes to be performing backflips, flips with twists, and multiple ones on a single take. But it's always interesting and awe-inspiring to watch any of these happen at the Olympic Games where athletes of varying calibers compete for glory and honor. We are pretty sure, though, that the hours of exercise, the tries, the falls, the retries must be countless and the determination immeasurable! Nevertheless, performing such exciting moves in gymnastics does not always look as gracious in slow motion or when captured at a certain moment.

It's no biggie!

What if his helmet lies somewhere on the ground? What if the only thing to protect him is his mom's prayer and his passion for the sport? Well, this running back is so cool for a moment there that we almost thought that he was actually posing for the lenses! It is evident that he is being tackled and surrounded by others ready to jump on him in case he wishes to continue. Isn’t this one of those times that you hold our breath thinking about what would come next? Amazing how these athletes do workout to toughen up those muscles!

This could not have gone well!

There is only one thing we can think of looking at this photo: Ouch! Or as people used to say: “Don’t mess with the bull or you’ll get the horns!" Do not get tricked by the serenity on this man’s face; we are 100% sure that the follow-up of this capture could not be anything but brutal. All we hope is that there were no severe injuries and if there were, hopefully, this athlete had an injury insurance!

All hail the king!

How can a game be boring if it includes such fabulous referees? The Dallas might have been left behind in score on their NBA struggle against San Antonio, however, it must have been more than an interesting watch! Even the Dallas fans must have put smiles on their face judging by this photo captured precisely at the right moment! The referee on the left seems to have a 'crowning-glory-moment,' while his colleagues seem to be in a deep discussion about the game. Whatever it is - this is a hilarious snapshot!

My world is upside down!

No, we have not flipped this photo 180 degrees and you can test it by looking at the crowd in the background! To be honest, no one is a better subject for a professional photographer than an extreme sports athlete, such as this biker. We suppose he is looking so cool and serene, given the fact that he is literally head-first, because of the number of tries and retries for this stunt. However, we hold our breath the moment we look at this photo!

This shall not pass!

OK, we will give you that! This snapshot is hilarious! Nonetheless, if you think it through, this is actually what the face of commitment and concentration looks like. This goalkeeper is more than ready to block any shot threatening the post. Just look at her determination and agility - it is obvious by examining her whole body posture! Of course, such flexibility and huge reach are not achieved without spending countless hours at the gym!

Not water polo!

Are we the only ones who feel a bit sorry for athletes when they are competing in the middle of heavy showers? We cannot fathom what it must be like to try to control the ball while running up and down a wet grass field. However, this photo of a soccer player is so well-timed that we are unsure about whether this is the result of heavy rain or a river of burnt calories – aka sweat!

Are we wrestlers or are we dancers?

Sometimes, the cameras have the ability to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments and when they do so in sports, most of the time, it turns out to be hilarious. Just like this picture here, where two wrestlers appear to have been touched by their inner desire for a Latin dance - hand in hand, with their torsos against one another. Had they been dressed in more suitable clothes, we would have believed they were dancing the tango!

A rather cute competitor

Who said that being a pitcher means you need to always look vicious in order to intimidate your glove-wearing opponent? Sometimes, one needs to search for other strategies to find their playstyle. We are talking, of course, about this gorgeous athlete, looking hot and an epitome of fitness with a cute smile on her face, all while competing! Who knows, maybe this is her tactic of distracting the opponent or she just loves a good snapshot for her Social Media.

This was impressive, Dennis!

You know who this is in the red and white uniform with the fabulous hair color! Who else but Dennis Rodman performing his magic within the basketball courts! His decisions might have been quite controversial after his athletic career was over and his popular persona might have been kind of shady after his law misadventures, but this photo is a testament to his devotion to the sport that was once his bread and butter!

Ah, so close!

After being decorated with gold eight times as well as being a world record holder, Usain Bolt must have spoiled sprinting for other athletes, so to speak. And Bolt's face after sprinting against De Grasse says it all. However, so does De Grasse's lovely smile which is priceless! Seriously, his smile is warming our hearts! Look at him! He is probably thinking that he was so close and he is going to beat Bolt next time! No, he won’t!

It's a bird... It's a plane...

Almost every time we look at this picture, we notice another hilarious face! Is this what the audience of a baseball match looks like whenever a ball is heading their way? There is the guy with the beer who is not surprised, the women in the foreground who are ducking even though they're wearing gloves, and the man on the left trying to protect the ladies with chivalry. But if we were one of them, we would definitely be the girl with the perfect smile trying to catch the ball!

Kali, the Hindu Goddess

Yes, football players have the best personal trainers in order to be ready to run miles and miles during a match. However, none of them is getting an extra pair of hands, and even if they were, then it would probably lead to worse situations rather than beneficial ones. Except if you are the goalkeeper. Then it would be definitely considered cheating! We love this photo, though; it depicts exactly the struggle and suspense of getting the rebound.

Such Loneliness!

The striker loves the forward, the winger loves the wing-back, and so on and so forth - until you get to the poor goalkeeper who, even though he loves his defense, is sometimes left helpless by his opponents who are one step ahead of him running up and down. So, what can he do? He is left with his goal posts! Who says that just because he is not running as much as the rest makes him in need of a fat burner? Come on, guys, give your goalie some love; he struggles as much as you do!

The headless hockey player

Right on time for the Halloween! No, these hockey players are not going trick-or-treating! And no, the guy on the right did not take his head off while trying to stop the other one from scoring! This is just an extremely well-timed snapshot that probably needs more than a few glances in order to figure out where this ice hockey player’s head is. It might have been dangerous, but nevertheless, the shot is hilarious!

Who needs a bat A-Rod?

We are not very sure about how to interpret this photo, yet we have quite a few possible translations behind this perfectly-timed shot. The bat is in the air and the baseball player’s face is priceless. He might be thinking: “I am so good; I can do this without a bat!” or he might be like, “I cannot do this anymore! I am ready to put my retirement plans into force!” What do you think goes through Alexander's mind?

Gross or wow?

We really don’t know how to feel about the next photo. In case you haven’t noticed it yet, it seems that Mother Nature was calling this Swiss athlete of professional cycling, and his teammates came to the rescue! When you have been training hard with a strict diet program and intensive exercising in order to compete for an Olympic medal, you need nothing standing in your way on your big day! And this athlete’s teammates had his back! But then again, his water bottle must have lost its lid...

Spit it out!

We are kind of feeling bad for laughing at this picture but we cannot help it. We, of course, respect the time and effort that it takes to make everything look impeccable and well-tuned in synchronized swimming. The athletes’ hair, makeup, swimsuits, even the color of their nails are carefully selected to achieve the ultimate style! Nevertheless, looking at this photo of two swimmers spitting water brings dolphins and whales to our mind- which might have been the purpose of it anyway.

Is he a contortionist too?

If you are getting goosebumps while looking at this, then we definitely feel for you! This is a greatly timed shot but it kind of feels like too much to us. We do understand that in order for a pitcher to bring his A-game to the fields, he must exercise his arms to a certain flexibility level but we get the feeling that this guy has taken it too far. However, there are also the naturally flexible ones; you know! The ones that look like they were made of rubber!

Neo: the basketball player

This is a professional photographer’s work - you can tell by the perspective and the timing! This photo feels like the whole scene was caught on camera in slow motion for the purpose of including it on the Matrix franchise and this exact shot was selected for its depth and depiction of what an intense basketball game feels like. You can clearly see the suspense and adrenalin in everyone’s face. The only thing you can’t see is the ball!

Shoo!

Just by looking at this snapshot for a second, we're guessing that the fish is angry with the protagonist. Maybe the guy is a regular fisherman, always looking for his victim to get baited or maybe he is disturbing the waters with his boat. Who knows why this fish got so frustrated and decided to get out of the water and hit the man? Nonetheless, congratulations to whoever was holding the camera and captured this amazing moment!

Get off my back!

If you ever took horse riding classes, then you are well aware that even if you are one of the most successful and popular jockeys, it only takes a second for things to go wrong. This photo captures an imminent disaster, although thankfully, neither the jockey nor the horse was seriously injured that day. Julien Leparoux’s Sanibel Storm touched a surface and within an instant, Leparoux was hurled off his horse’s back!

Boo!

What? Another Halloween-themed sports photo? That’s all we can think of looking at this Milwaukee Bucks player staring at the ball totally freaked out! Come to think about it, a basketball ball quite resembles a pumpkin, but we are pretty sure – unless it was a prank- this one is neither carved nor painted with a scary face. Or maybe he missed the chance of his life by not saving the ball from going out of bounds?

Let's dance around the ball!

The ball is in the middle, the rebound within reach of not just a couple but four female basketball players; and yet, all we can see in this picture is what seems to be a fiery African dance! Or maybe they are not actually playing basketball but “The ball is lava!" We don’t really mean to trivialize these athletes’ commitment to their sport, of course. However, this snapshot is not flattering at all and we bet they all look better at the gym!

Who scored?

In this picture, we see two young, lovely people – and they look like a very compatible couple! The photo was taken to commemorate their acquaintance. So, who do you think is the scorer? Could it be this stunning blonde fan who got to take a picture with her favorite football player? Or maybe this football player who has definitely impressed this gorgeous lady?  What is your take? No matter what, we hope that this photo was the start of a lovely friendship. We can't help but notice that the lady is in great shape and in incredible health, too!

What is your superpower?

Thank the maker of this technologically-advanced protective gear and health insurance of this rider. This photo was definitely taken just a fraction of a second before what seems to be a nasty fall! We have already seen the surfer motorcyclist earlier, so now it’s time to meet the flying motorcyclist. Despite the laughs, we really hope that he did not suffer any injuries and is still competing for his beloved sport because this shot looks rather ominous!

Ballet-ball

Who said that being a basketball player means you are only about sweat, low-carb diets, height, and intimidating postures? Yes, basketball is a rather manly sport but if you are graceful and you got the moves, then you cannot and should not hide it! Just like this New York Knicks player who’s performing some aerial splits that even a professional ballerina would be jealous of! We don’t know if this was an attempt for a three-pointer but we really hope it was a successful one.

Disgusting...or not

We cannot possibly fathom what could be so gross that turned these football player’s faces like that! If only the camera angle could capture what is on the other side! We can’t think of anything else rather than the ball, though, but who knows? Maybe it was something on the ball! If it was on streaming TV, we could easily figure out just a split-second after the capture. But our best guess is that this is what the face of anticipation and suspense looks like in sports!

Oh, that is unfortunate!

Come on! This photo is so unflattering it should never have seen the light of day! We are a bit ashamed of digging it up but, goodness, it is hysterically hilarious! We do not really know why this Olympic diving athlete has this expression on her face. No, she is not getting in touch with her fishy side and neither is she into wrestling, but this shot is so perfectly-timed that might have happened before going into the water. Perhaps her fitness trainer/coach had taught her to exhale with all her might before each dive...