Sony has officially announced the winner of the Belgian national award as part of the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards.
"On Track", by Steven Meert (45) from Ghent won the award as part of the world's largest photography competition, the multinational entertainment company announced on Tuesday.
"I took this photo on the track named after Eddy Merckx, widely regarded as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling," said Meert. "This makes this picture very Belgian as cycling is considered a national sport."
Talking to local media on the award, Meert has discussed how surprised he was at winning. "When I read the email, I thought it was a spam message," he told VRT.
The National Awards are a global program open to photographers of all levels, and reward a photographer from each country for a stand-alone photo. Winners are also given the opportunity to present their work at the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 exhibition in Somerset House, London from April 17th until May 4th.
More than 345,000 images were submitted to the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 competition and more than 190,000 entered the open competition (from which the winner of the National Awards was selected) - the highest number of entries to date.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
