Sporting Witness Podcast
Eye-witness accounts from sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped sport through the eyes of the people who were there.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
Episodes to download
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Ryneldi Becenti - Native American basketball star
Thu 22 Aug 2019
The inspiring story of how a player from a Navajo reservation made it to the women's NBA.
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David Steele: 'The bank clerk who went to war'
Thu 15 Aug 2019
In 1975, the veteran cricketer became an unlikely English hero in the Ashes series
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Football glory unites Iraq
Thu 8 Aug 2019
In 2007, Iraq won the Asian Cup sparking wild celebrations across the war-torn country.
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The closest Tour de France ever
Thu 25 Jul 2019
How American Greg Lemond won cycling's biggest race by just 8 seconds in 1989.
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The football war
Thu 18 Jul 2019
The World Cup qualifiers that preceded a brief but bloody conflict in Central America
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Little Mo, tennis great
Thu 11 Jul 2019
Maureen Connolly was the first woman to win a tennis Grand Slam in 1953
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USA wins the first Women's World Cup
Thu 4 Jul 2019
Carin Jennings-Gabarra recalls her part in America's 1991 World Cup win
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Germany's 'Golden Goal' heroine
Thu 27 Jun 2019
In 2003, Nia Künzer's extra-time header won Germany its first women's football World Cup
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Tony Hawk, skateboard king
Thu 20 Jun 2019
How mastering a virtually impossible trick made the US skateboarder a household name.
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Japan's women footballers lift the nation
Thu 13 Jun 2019
In 2011, winning the soccer World Cup lifted Japan's morale after the Fukushima disaster.
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Kenya's World Cup cricket fairytale
Thu 6 Jun 2019
In 2003, Kenya stunned cricket by reaching the World Cup semi-final.
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Liverpool - The kings of Europe
Thu 30 May 2019
How Liverpool won their first European Cup in 1977, starting a decade of domination.
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Spurs dream of European glory
Thu 23 May 2019
How Tottenham Hotspur took on Anderlecht in a battle for the 1984 UEFA Cup
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Secretariat - America's superstar racehorse
Thu 16 May 2019
How one of the greatest racehorses of all time won the US Triple Crown in 1973.
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The Torino air disaster
Thu 9 May 2019
In May 1949, a plane crash killed one of the greatest teams in Italian football history.
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Desiré Wilson - Formula One winner
Thu 2 May 2019
In 1980 the South African racing driver became the only woman to win a Formula One event.
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Paula Radcliffe
Thu 25 Apr 2019
The British runner who set a famous world record at the 2003 London Marathon.
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Ashley Fiolek - Deaf motocross champion
Thu 18 Apr 2019
How a deaf American rider dominated the fast and dangerous sport of women's motocross
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Brian Lara's batting world record
Thu 11 Apr 2019
In April 1994, the great West Indies batsman hit 375 runs against England in Antigua
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The King of Comrades
Thu 4 Apr 2019
How Bruce Fordyce won South Africa's famous Comrades Marathon nine times in the 1980s.
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Marcus Trescothick and mental illness
Thu 28 Mar 2019
The England cricketer who gave up his international career because of depression.
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The man who ran around Australia
Thu 21 Mar 2019
In 1983, Ron Grant became the first person to run 13,383 kilometres of Australian coast.
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Bangladesh's football heroes
Thu 14 Mar 2019
How the national football team helped the country's fight for independence in 1971.
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The birth of skiing
Thu 21 Feb 2019
How the British invented downhill skiing at the start of the 20th Century.
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Why I invented the sports bra
Thu 14 Feb 2019
When Lisa Lindahl couldn't find a comfortable bra to run in, she decided to design one
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South Africa Win The Rugby World Cup
Thu 7 Feb 2019
How sporting victory in 1995 helped unite South Africa after apartheid.
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Paul Pritchard And The Totem Pole
Thu 31 Jan 2019
The British adventurer who was seriously injured on a climb, but returned 18 years later.
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The Gay Games
Thu 24 Jan 2019
The first international sports event for LGBT athletes was held in San Francisco in 1982.
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Diane Crump - Pioneering Female Jockey
Thu 17 Jan 2019
The inspiring story of the first woman to ride in America's top horse race.
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Mark Edmondson And The Biggest Upset In Tennis
Thu 10 Jan 2019
How a former part-time hospital cleaner won the Australian Open in 1976.