Olympics

Our latest edition of This Week in Photography starts with sad news, but we promise it gets better as you read on. For example, we end with news that photographers sometimes win big; like $625,000 big. Enjoy.

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From Hurricane Isaac in the Caribbean and colorful Holi celebrations in Germany to the Paralympics in London and a tree full of goats in Morocco, TIME presents the best images of the week.

Throughout the year, political pundits have obsessed over delegates, the people who come to the Republican National Convention from every state to vote for their party’s nominee. Before the convention, they were faceless numbers—prizes to be won in primaries. In Tampa, they’ve proven to be a diverse and enthusiastic cast of characters, coming from a wide variety of occupations and age groups.

We asked each one to tell us about the most vital issues at stake in this year’s election. Most are obsessed with the economy. Some are fixated on the country’s “moral decline.” And a rare few sport wardrobes worthy of the theater (or at least Halloween). Most delegates support Mitt Romney, but there are exceptions holding on to Ron Paul.

Photographer Grant Cornett roamed the convention center in Tampa, capturing members of each delegation. His portraits reveal a cross section of the people who make up the Grand Old Party of 2012.

Related: The DNC in Pictures: The Delegates by Grant Cornett

Katy Steinmetz is a reporter in TIME’s Washington bureau. In addition to working on features for TIME and TIME.com, she contributes to TIME’s Swampland, Healthland and NewsFeed blogs.

From violent clashes in Lebanon and wildfires in Spain to a disabled beauty pageant in Thailand and a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House, TIME presents the best images of the week.

Imagine for a moment hurtling down a roadway as fast as your legs could carry you—all the while blindfolded. Sound scary? Henry Wanyoike does it every day, along the dirt roads around his Kenyan village and on the speedy tracks of Olympic stadiums. Wanyoike, 38, has won three gold medals in three Paralympics—his first in the 5000m at Sydney in 2000—setting two world records for a blind runner in the process. This year in London, he is aiming to medal in his first Paralympic marathon.

The fact that Wanyoike runs at such intense speeds while totally blind is truly remarkable, a testament to both his raw athletic talent and iron guts. I know that from personal experience. I, too, am losing my sight, due to a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa. There is no treatment or cure, no way of slowing the descent into blindness. Today, I still see much better than Wanyoike, but I can barely find my way at night or down a crowded street. As I visited Wanyoike in his village outside of the town of Kikuyu, I joined him for a stretch of a morning run. The weather was terrible. A cold rain fell on the unpaved roads, turning them into cauldrons of mud. My sight doesn’t allow me to spot potholes or other potential ankle-twisters, and the raindrops splattering my eyeglasses made that task even more difficult. I struggled to keep my footing. Yet Wanyoike ran beside me, unfazed and sure-footed. He can’t run alone, of course. He is joined by a guide, Joseph Kibunja, who acts as his eyes.

Wanyoike didn’t always have such confidence. As a young man, he seemed headed for a promising career as part of Kenya’s famed running teams, until disaster struck in May 1995. At only 20 years old, Wanyoike went suddenly blind, due to a stroke. Unable to care for himself, let alone run, he became despondent, even suicidal. “I was thinking that was the end of me,” he says. “My dream would never come true.”

Yet it did. After several years, with the help of encouraging teachers and doctors, Wanyoike learned to run again with the aid of a guide. Now he participates in races from Hong Kong to Hamburg, an inspiration not only to disabled people in Kenya, but also to the poor children of his home region of Kikuyu as well. Wanyoike still lives near to where he was born, humbly in little more than an upgraded shack. Though he wishes he could see his wife and children at least once, Wanyoike doesn’t look backwards, to the life he had when he was sighted. “For 17 years, since I lost my sight, I think I have done so many (more) things than what I did for 21 years before,” Wanyoike says. “The most important thing is to accept yourself.”

I’d like to say I found Wanyoike and his life story inspiring, especially since I am facing a similar fate. He is an inspiration, of course, to anyone dealing with disability or adversity. But what struck me most is how differently Wanyoike and I have approached our condition. Wanyoike has come to accept what has happened to him, and has gained strength from that acceptance. I, however, strive to overcome my failing sight by stubbornly refusing to accept the problem exists. My visit with Wanyoike made me wonder if his way is better.

Read more about Henry Wanyoike at TIME.com.

Dominic Nahr, a TIME contract photographer, is represented by Magnum.

Michael Schuman writes about Asia and global economic issues as a correspondent for TIME in Beijing.

In this week’s photos from around New York, an aunt grieves for her nephew, a home explodes on Long Island and the Double Dutch Olympics gets kids jumping.

From the earthquake in Iran and the killing of miners on strike by police in South Africa to the end of Ramadan and a meteor shower over Macedonia, TIME presents the best images of the week.

Thoughts on the Olympic’s Closing Ceremony: What Was That?

On assignment for The New York Times at the Olympics in London, Jed Jacobsohn was nearly run over by a cameraman on a Segway.