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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鈥檒l 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鈥檚 World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football鈥檚 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鈥檝e 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.

Updated: weekly
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Blood in the Water

    Sat 22 Oct 2016

    How tension between Hungary and the USSR turned into a battle at the 1956 Olympics

  • The Black Power Salute

    Sat 15 Oct 2016

    How two African-American athletes protested against racism at the 1968 Olympic Games.

  • Meeting Mr Pilates

    Sat 8 Oct 2016

    In the 1950s, Joseph Pilates taught his fitness method in a New York studio.

  • The 'Black 14' Protest Rocks American Football

    Sat 1 Oct 2016

    How black players at Wyoming University sparked a national debate over racism in 1969

  • Lady Swimmers of the 1920s

    Sat 24 Sep 2016

    How three British women swimmers took the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics by storm.

  • Kenya's Paralympic Record-Breaker

    Sat 17 Sep 2016

    How blind runner, Henry Wanyoike, set world records that stand to this day

  • India's First Paralympic Hero

    Sat 10 Sep 2016

    In 1972, war veteran Murlikant Petkar won India's first Paralympic gold medal

  • Rwanda at the Paralympics

    Sat 3 Sep 2016

    In 2012, Rwanda's sitting volleyball team became their country's first Paralympians.

  • Willy T Ribbs

    Sat 27 Aug 2016

    In 1991, an African-American driver raced the Indianapolis 500 for the first time

  • Eric Liddell

    Sat 20 Aug 2016

    The story of the Scottish runner immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire.

  • Emil Zatopek

    Sat 13 Aug 2016

    The legendary Czechoslovak runner who won three golds at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

  • Nadia Comaneci

    Sat 6 Aug 2016

    The Romanian gymnast who scored the first "Perfect 10" at the Olympics in 1976.

  • Nigeria's Supereagles win Olympic Gold

    Sat 30 Jul 2016

    In 1996, Nigeria became the first African team to take football gold at the Olympic Games

  • Niki Lauda Crashes

    Sat 23 Jul 2016

    The 1976 motor racing crash which went down in Formula One history.

  • East Timor's Marathon Hero

    Sat 16 Jul 2016

    The journey of female marathoner Agueda Amaral from refugee to the Sydney Olympics.

  • Women's Marathon Agony

    Sat 9 Jul 2016

    In 1984, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss completed the Olympic marathon in terrible pain

  • Arthur Ashe

    Sat 2 Jul 2016

    In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win Wimbledon

  • Shun Fujimoto - Japan's Injured Olympic Hero

    Sat 25 Jun 2016

    The Japanese gymnast who won gold in 1976 despite competing with a broken knee

  • Pyrros Dimas - Greek Weightlifting Legend

    Sat 18 Jun 2016

    How the 'Lion of Himara' became a Greek hero by battling injury at the Athens Olympics

  • Denmark's Shock Win at the European Championship

    Sat 11 Jun 2016

    How the Danish football team won the Euro 1992 tournament despite failing to qualify

  • Bangladesh's Channel Swimmer Hero

    Sat 4 Jun 2016

    How Brojen Das broke the world record for swimming from France to England in 1961.

  • The 1976 US Olympic Boxing Team

    Sat 28 May 2016

    The American boxers acclaimed for one of the best team performances in Olympic history.

  • The Torino air disaster

    Sat 14 May 2016

    In May 1949, a plane crash killed one of the greatest teams in Italian football history.

  • The Golden Girls of Zimbabwe

    Sat 7 May 2016

    How the women's hockey team won the first Olympic gold for their country in 1980.

  • Dawn Fraser - Triple Olympic Champion

    Sat 30 Apr 2016

    How the rebellious Australian swimmer shattered records in the 1950s and 60s

  • Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope

    Sat 23 Apr 2016

    The cancer patient who inspired Canada with an attempt to run across the country in 1980

  • Shaul Ladany - the Great Survivor

    Sat 16 Apr 2016

    The Israeli race-walker who survived the Holocaust and the Munich Olympics shootings

  • Chess City

    Sat 9 Apr 2016

    In 1998, the world's most expensive chess centre opened in a remote region of Russia.

  • Gail Devers

    Sat 2 Apr 2016

    The American sprinter who recovered from serious illness to win the Olympic 100 metres.

  • Stirling Moss Wins the Mille Miglia Motor Race

    Sat 26 Mar 2016

    How the British driver Stirling Moss won one of the most epic races of all time in 1955

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Olympic history

Olympic history

The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history

Sporting Witness Films

Sporting Witness Films

Watch sporting heroes tell their stories of astonishing achievement

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