‘A Moment Of Grace’

Sports, second prize singles

1993

A moment of grace and beauty in a young life dominated by self-discipline and pain. At special sports schools in China, girls barely out of kindergarten are subjected to a strict regime designed to push the elasticity of the human body to its limits. Their goal: Olympic and/or world titles. At the sports school the day begins at 5.30 a.m. A strict timetable tailored around at least four hours of training a day, fits in schooling, rest and meals composed more for their nutritional value than their taste. The lights are switched off at 9 p.m. The girls are groomed to reach their peak when they are 14 or 15 years old. Children from remote rural areas, who have known poverty since they were born and who have developed willpower and discipline at an early age, score particularly highly at the school.

Commissioned by: Katz Pictures

Photo Credit: Tom Stoddart

Tom Stoddart began his photographic career on a local newspaper in his native North-East of England.

In 1978 he moved to London and began working freelance for publications such as the Sunday Times and Time Magazine.

During a long and varied career he has witnessed such international events as the war in Lebanon, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the election of President Nelson Mandela, the bloody siege of Sarajevo and the wars against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

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