MILAN (AP) — Francisco Seco is a chief photographer for The Associated Press based in Istanbul. These are his fourth Olympics after Japan, China, and France.
Because everything is in the right place. This particular move is called the “death spiral,” and every photographer’s goal is to freeze the female athlete’s face in an upside-down position really close to her male partner’s skate blades. This is the first time I managed to show her face positioned between her partner’s legs while they were spinning in a very fast movement.
I was at ice level using a 400mm lens and a high-speed shutter (1/2000). I always bring a minimum of three cameras with different lenses so when I saw this pair was going to perform the “death spiral” move I switched from a 300mm lens to a 400mm to get a closer shot. Our camera’s focus system is super fast and it helped me catch the woman’s face in focus as they were moving very quickly.
As I said before I think everything is in the right place. The photo catches your attention because it’s a ‘rare’ situation. It’s a nice compositional photograph. The combination of the upside-down face near the skate blades and the scratched ice background makes you ask yourself, “What’s going on there?”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany compete during the pairs figure skating long program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tony Clark is resigning as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, a person familiar with union’s deliberations said Tuesday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because his decision, first reported by ESPN, had not been announced. The person said an announcement was likely later Tuesday.
Clark’s decision comes during an investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, into One Team Partners, a licensing company founded by the union and the NFL Players Association.
The move was made ahead of an expected start of collective bargaining in April for an agreement to replace the five-year labor contract that expires Dec. 1. Management appears on track to propose a salary cap, which possibly could lead to a work stoppage that causes regular-season games to be canceled for the first time since 1985.
The union on Monday canceled Tuesday’s start of the staff’s annual tour of the 30 spring training camps.
Clark, 53, is a former All-Star first baseman who became the first player to head the Union.
He last played in 2008 and was a member of the union staff when Michael Weiner was diagnosed with brain tumor.
He took over as union head when Weiner died in late 2013 and led players through negotiations that led to agreements in 2016 and 2022, the latter after a 99-day lockout.
Bruce Meyer, who was the lead negotiator under Clark in 2021-22, was promoted to deputy executive director in the summer of 2022 and is slated to again head negotiation.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark answers a question during a news conference in New York on March 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
