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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East Germany's World Cup Moment
Sat 12 May 2018
How the East Germans beat West Germany in a famous Cold War victory in 1974.
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Gino Bartali - The Cyclist Who Saved Jews From The Holocaust
Sat 5 May 2018
How the Italian cycling champion helped save hundreds of lives during World War II.
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The Stabbing of Monica Seles
Sat 28 Apr 2018
The world number one tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed on court in Germany in 1993
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Jim Clark - Formula One Legend
Sat 21 Apr 2018
The Scottish racing driver regarded by many fans as one of the greatest of all time.
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Chantal Petitclerc and A Breakthrough For Parasport
Sat 14 Apr 2018
The wheelchair racer on how the Commonwealth Games combined able-bodied and parasport.
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Jack Nicklaus' Final Triumph
Sat 7 Apr 2018
How the "Golden Bear" won his last golfing major at the 1986 Masters - aged 46.
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Filbert Bayi - Gold For Tanzania!
Sat 31 Mar 2018
How the 1500-metre runner won a famous race at the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
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Mansour Bahrami - The Great Entertainer of Tennis
Sat 24 Mar 2018
The Iranian whose showmanship made him one of the most popular players in tennis.
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'The Witches of the Orient' - Japan's Volleyball Heroines
Sat 17 Mar 2018
The women's team who won a legendary victory for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964
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Willie O'Ree: The First Black NHL Player
Sat 10 Mar 2018
In 1958 Canadian Willie O'Ree broke the colour barrier in the National Hockey League
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Sri Lanka's Cricket Triumph
Sat 3 Mar 2018
How Sri Lanka's surprise victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup sparked wild celebrations.
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The 'Skategate' Scandal in Ice-Skating
Sat 24 Feb 2018
How a judging controversy dominated the headlines at the 2002 Winter Olympics
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Franz Klammer
Sat 17 Feb 2018
How the legendary Austrian skier took gold in a great race at the 1976 Winter Olympics.
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Olympic Luge Death
Sat 10 Feb 2018
At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, a young luge athlete from Georgia was killed in training.
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Table Tennis Unites Korea
Sat 3 Feb 2018
How North and South Korea fielded a united Ping Pong team and won the world championship.
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Alone On Everest
Sat 27 Jan 2018
How British mountaineer Stephen Venables spent a lonely night on top of the world.
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Arsene Wenger On Discovering George Weah
Sat 20 Jan 2018
How the Arsenal manager discovered the footballer who became President of Liberia.
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Eric Cantona's Kung-Fu Kick
Sat 13 Jan 2018
How the French forward shocked football by attacking an opposition fan in 1995.
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Declan Murphy: The Jockey who Came Back from the Dead
Sat 6 Jan 2018
The Irish rider who made an emotional comeback after serious brain damage in a fall
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Donald Campbell and Bluebird
Sat 30 Dec 2017
The record-breaking British driver who was killed in a jet-boat accident in 1967.
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The Sydney to Hobart Yachting Disaster
Sat 23 Dec 2017
Hurricane force storms led to 6 deaths and 50 sailors airlifted in a daring sea rescue.
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Colonel Gaddafi's Ice Hockey Team
Sat 16 Dec 2017
How the Libyan dictator sponsored a failing German ice hockey team in the 1980s.
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The Bosman Ruling Revolutionises Football
Sat 9 Dec 2017
How a Belgian footballer won a court ruling that transformed the transfer market.
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Lopez Lomong - From "Lost Boy" To The Olympics
Sat 2 Dec 2017
The former Sudanese refugee who carried the flag for the USA at the 2008 Olympics.
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Jana Novotna - Wimbledon Heroine
Sat 25 Nov 2017
How the late Czech tennis player went from weeping loser to popular Wimbledon winner.
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Pam Reed: Winning Ultramarathons in Death Valley
Sat 18 Nov 2017
The woman who beat all the men in the notorious Badwater Marathon in California
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The First Ultimate Fighting Championship
Sat 11 Nov 2017
How the fast-growing sport of mixed martial arts was launched in America in 1993.
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Kelly Kulick - Ten Pin Bowler
Sat 4 Nov 2017
The first woman to compete at the same level as men in the professional game.
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The Climbing Pioneer Who Conquered El Capitan
Sat 28 Oct 2017
Lynn Hill was first to free-climb 'The Nose', 3,000ft of vertical granite wall
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Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost: Formula One's Greatest Rivalry
Sat 21 Oct 2017
How the feud between two motor-racing giants spilled onto the track in 1989.