Ben Lowy Took Post-Match Photographs of NCAA Wrestlers

The annual NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) wrestling championship tournament took place last weekend in Madison Square Garden. Photographer Ben Lowy photographed the wrestlers right after the match, to capture the phenomenal contradiction of them looking “haggard but phenomenally fit”.

The athletes are required to wear headgear during the matches, but not during practice. As a result, the repeated bruising leaves their ears permanently thick and lumpy, and their faces swollen, The New Yorker article that features this series says.