Tears and emotion from behind the lens when capturing Jasmin Paris’ iconic Barkley moment

The photos of Jasmin Paris becoming the first woman to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons already look like becoming iconic sporting images.

She reached the famed yellow gate, which marks the end of the gruelling 100-mile test around Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, with just 99 seconds to spare of the allotted 60 hours.

First slumped over the gate itself and then on the ground beside it, the sheer effort and willpower required was brutally evident.

‘She’s broken the cycle’

And David Miller, the award-winning photographer who we chatted to in the build-up to the Barkley, was right there to capture the moment – and witness something very special at the same time.

Many of David’s images feature on our Barkley coverage and speaking to BBC Scotland earlier today he called Paris’ feat the “greatest ultramarathon achievement of all time”.

No room for error

And he explained just how tense the atmosphere was on the ground as it went right down to the wire, saying: “There was a lot of anticipation at the finish line, and three minutes before the 60-hour cut-off, we heard shouting and a roar, and it was people cheering Jasmin on.

“She was sprinting and giving it her all as there was no room for error because otherwise she would not have made the cut-off.

“She touched the gate and collapsed in exhaustion. It was the best thing I have ever seen, it was unbelievable.

“Obviously I was very focussed on trying to capture Jasmin and a moment in history but at the same time I could feel a tear behind the lens because it was such an emotional moment.”