The tenth of a Guardian Print Shop series featuring classic sports images from the likes of Gerry Cranham, Mark Leech and Tom Jenkins – yours to own for just £55 including free delivery
While most other photographers took their places on the sidelines of the athletics track at the White City stadium for the 1965
British Games, photographer Gerry Cranham, always hunting something a little different, ducked down alongside one of the steeplechase hurdles and awaited his quarry. He knew his low vantage point, combined with the mirror-like surface of the water, would offer a crisp reflection of the action and the surrounding architecture; he knew, too, that having athletes leaping over his shoulder into the drink would fill the frame with drama. The resulting image is a dynamic example of Cranham’s vision and craft – it’s also a memento of one of London’s long-lost sporting stadia. Erected for the 1908 Olympics, the 93,000-capacity venue played host to numerous British Games, as well as greyhound racing, speedway,
boxing, Queens Park Rangers
Football Club and a match at the 1966
World Cup before being razed in 1985 to make way for the expansion of the BBC’s headquarters.