Sport is war minus the shooting’ so runs the famous George Orwell quote. Teams or individual competitors are the ‘champions’ of their nation/region/city. They carry the hopes and expectations of their ‘people’ on their shoulders. At the highest level the aspirations extend beyond the sports arena and out onto the wider societal stage.

In any competition there must by the nature of it be many more losers than winners. Hopes of thousands dashed by the wayside of sporting endeavour. Despite the ferocity of the competition there are however individuals/teams who are serial winners, who repeatedly answer the call for success that issues from their ‘people’ and if sport really is war minus the shooting then these individuals are the ultimate proxy warriors.

The subjects depicted in this set of prints have all achieved greatness in their chosen sporting field and many are also noted for their wider societal impact. The quotes that accompany the images are an attempt to capture the essence of these ‘champions ‘of their people.