A selection of some of the most striking sports photographs taken around the world this week:
Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, 15 December: Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne in the pit lane before the first Formula E race of the season. (Photo by Sam Bloxham/Handout/Getty Images)
Alta Badia, Italy, 16 December: Marcel Hirscher of Austria competes during the Alpine Ski World Cup men's giant slalom (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Horsham, Australia, 16 December: I'm Explosive ridden by Lucinda Doodt wins the Bull & Mouth After The Last BM58 Handicap at Horsham Racecourse. (Alice Laidlaw/Racing Photos via Getty Images)
Bhubaneswar, India, 16 December: Belgium players celebrate after beating the Netherlands on penalties to win the Hockey Men's World Cup final at Kalinga Stadium. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images for FIH)
Zonhoven, Belgium, 16 December: Inge van der Heijden, Loes Sels, Annemarie Worst, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Sanne Cant compete during the women's elite race at the 23rd Superprestige cyclo-cross event. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Memphis, Tennessee, 15 December: Jordan Bone of the Tennessee Volunteers goes up for a dunk against the Memphis Tigers. The Volunteers defeated Memphis 102-92. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
Hangzhou, China, 15 December: Aushat Sausan of the Maldives competes in the women's 100m butterfly on day five of the World Swimming Championships. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Heerenveen, Netherlands, 14 December: American Kimi Gotz leads the pack in the ladies' mass start semi-final at the Speed Skating World Cup at Thialf. (Photo by Joosep Martinson - International Skating Union (ISU)/ISU via Getty Images)
Malelane, South Africa 13 December: Kurt Kitiyama of the United States plays a shot during day one of the Alfred Dunhill Championships at Leopard Creek Country Golf Club. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 11 December: Quinten Bossche of Belgium races in the Ski Division GP1 during qualifying for the Aquabike Class Pro Circuit at Khalid Lagoon. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
All photographs are subject to copyright.
Check out last week's photo gallery and see some of the best news pictures from the week.
