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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The "Battle Of The Sexes" Tennis Match
Sat 14 Oct 2017
In 1973, Billie-Jean King made tennis history by winning a challenge game against a man.
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Iranian Football's "Mr Hat-Trick"
Sat 7 Oct 2017
How the Irish-born footballer, Eamon Zayed, became a folk hero in Iran.
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O.J. Simpson Makes American Football History
Sat 30 Sep 2017
How his 1973 season with the Buffalo Bills made O.J. Simpson a superstar.
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Chioma Ajunwa: Making Olympic History
Sat 23 Sep 2017
How Nigerian athlete Chioma Ajunwa stunned the world at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996
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The Creation of Ironman
Sat 16 Sep 2017
How one of the world's hardest endurance events was invented in Hawaii in 1978.
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Nawal El Moutawakel - Pioneer of Muslim Women's Athletics
Sat 9 Sep 2017
How a Moroccan woman hurdler took victory at the 1984 Olympics and inspired a generation.
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'Fast Freddie' Spencer - Motorcycling's Child Prodigy
Sat 2 Sep 2017
The American motorbike rider who won his first world championship aged 21
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The Olympic Hero Who Rescued His Fellow Sailors
Sat 26 Aug 2017
How Canadian Lawrence Lemieux was hailed for his sportsmanship at the 1988 Olympics.
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Alison Hargreaves
Sat 19 Aug 2017
Memories of the great British woman mountaineer killed in the Himalayas in August 1995.
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Sergey Bubka - Pole Vault Legend
Sat 12 Aug 2017
How the legendary Ukrainian athlete won his toughest World Championship in 1997.
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John Daly - The "Wild Thing" of Golf
Sat 5 Aug 2017
How the maverick golfer became a superstar overnight by winning the US PGA as a rookie.
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Pat Tillman - The American Football Hero Killed in Afghanistan
Sat 29 Jul 2017
How a sports star turned military hero died in a controversial friendly fire incident.
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Eddy Merckx - Tour De France Legend
Sat 22 Jul 2017
Memories of the Belgian cyclist so feared he was known as "The Cannibal".
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Boris Becker - Teenage Wimbledon King
Sat 15 Jul 2017
How the unseeded German teenager became Wimbledon champion in 1985.
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Sheryl Swoopes - Queen of Basketball
Sat 8 Jul 2017
The Olympic gold medallist who became one of the first stars of the women's NBA.
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Fred Perry - Tennis Legend
Sat 1 Jul 2017
The British tennis player who became a global celebrity in the 1930s
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The First Women's Cricket World Cup
Sat 24 Jun 2017
Women players from England and the West Indies recall the inaugural tournament in 1973.
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Maradona's Failed Doping Test
Sat 17 Jun 2017
How the Argentine superstar was expelled from the USA 1994 soccer World Cup.
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Tibet's Football Team
Sat 10 Jun 2017
How a retired Danish footballer formed the Tibetan national team in 2001.
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Celtic's "Lions of Lisbon" win the European Cup
Sat 3 Jun 2017
How the Glasgow team became the first in Britain to win the top prize in club football
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Francis Chichester Sails the World
Sat 27 May 2017
The British yachtsman who set records going round the globe single-handedly in 1967
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Chrissie Wellington - The Iron Lady
Tue 23 May 2017
How the late-developing British triathlete came from nowhere to become the world's best.
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The 5:19 Football Riot in China
Sat 13 May 2017
How Chinese fans rioted in 1985 after losing a World Cup qualifier to Hong Kong
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Kerry Packer's Cricket Revolution
Sat 6 May 2017
How the Australian tycoon brought big money, and controversy, into the sport in 1977.
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The Japanese Women's Football Team
Sat 29 Apr 2017
How a World Cup win brought a boost to Japan after the huge earthquake in 2011.
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Simon Beresford – Marathon Runner with Down's Syndrome
Sat 22 Apr 2017
The first person with Down's Syndrome to complete the London Marathon.
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Janet Guthrie - First Woman at the Indy 500
Sat 15 Apr 2017
How the pioneering racing driver broke the gender barrier at America's top motor race
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Red Rum
Sat 8 Apr 2017
The racehorse who became a legend in Britain for winning the Grand National three times.
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The Rise and Fall of Parma Football Club
Sat 1 Apr 2017
How a small Italian city enjoyed fleeting football glory before it was hit by scandal
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Kirsty Coventry - how the new President of the International Olympic Committee won gold
Sat 25 Mar 2017
How the new president of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, won Olympic gold