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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Michael Chang wins the French Open
Sat 7 Jun 2014
The Chinese-American player who won his only major after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
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Barry McGuigan unites Ireland
Sat 31 May 2014
How the boxer's world championship bid brought together all sides in Northern Ireland.
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Peru Stadium Riot
Sat 24 May 2014
In May 1964, more than 300 people died at a football game between Peru and Argentina.
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Red Card for Zidane
Sat 17 May 2014
The referee who sent off the legendary French player in the 2006 World Cup final.
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North Korea - World Cup Giantkillers!
Sat 10 May 2014
How the footballers of communist North Korea shocked Italy at the 1966 World Cup.
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The Indomitable Lions: Cameroon at the World Cup
Sat 3 May 2014
How Cameroon shocked Argentina at the 1990 World Cup and put African football on the map.
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Brandi Chastain: It's Not About the Bra
Sat 26 Apr 2014
The American footballer who won the World Cup, then tore off her shirt to reveal her bra.
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Kathrine Switzer, women's marathon pioneer
Sat 19 Apr 2014
The American athlete who broke the gender barrier at the Boston Marathon
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Algeria's Revolutionary Football Team
Sat 12 Apr 2014
Algerian players secretly left their French clubs to form their own national team in 1958
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The Miracle of Bern
Sat 5 Apr 2014
The unlikely 1954 World Cup victory which restored West German pride after WW2
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Born to Run - Mexico's Tarahumara Indians
Sat 29 Mar 2014
The epic race between America's top ultramarathon runner and an ancient Mexican tribe.
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Joe Gaetjens - The Footballer Who Disappeared
Sat 22 Mar 2014
He scored a goal for the US and upon his return to Haiti was taken by the secret police
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Handcyclist Alex Zanardi
Sat 15 Mar 2014
The racing driver who suffered a horrific crash, but then became a successful Paralympian
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Silken Laumann - Unsinkable!
Sat 8 Mar 2014
The Canadian rower who defied a horrific injury to win an Olympic medal in 1992
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Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston World Heavyweight Championships 1964
Sat 1 Mar 2014
How the young Muhammad Ali became boxing world champion after two controversial fights.
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Torvill and Dean
Sat 22 Feb 2014
In 1984, the British skaters charmed the world with their performance of Ravel's Bolero
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Franz Klammer
Sat 15 Feb 2014
How the legendary Austrian skier won one of the most exciting Olympic downhill races ever
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British Bobsleigh Win
Sat 8 Feb 2014
In 1964, Britain won an Olympic event that became famous for an act of sportsmanship.
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The Miracle On Ice
Sat 1 Feb 2014
At the 1980 Winter Olympics, the USA faced the USSR in a Cold War hockey showdown.
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Kenya's First Winter Olympian
Sat 25 Jan 2014
How cross-country skiing united a Kenyan farmer and a Norwegian Winter Olympic hero
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Dan Jansen
Sat 18 Jan 2014
The American speed-skater who overcame personal tragedy to win Olympic gold
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Katarina Witt
Sat 11 Jan 2014
The glamorous East German skater remembers dancing Carmen at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
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The Best Of Sporting Witness
Sat 21 Jul 2012
A compilation of some of the most memorable stories from the series.
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Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie's 10,000m Final
Sat 21 Jul 2012
Close finish - Gebrselassie beat his rival Paul Tergat of Kenya by less than a second
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Bob Beamon and the 'Leap of the Century'
Sat 14 Jul 2012
The American long-jumper on shattering the world record at the 1968 Mexico Olympics
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Martina Navratilova
Sat 7 Jul 2012
The tennis legend on defecting from Czechoslovakia and then winning Wimbledon in 1978.
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Derek Redmond - Never Give Up
Sat 30 Jun 2012
How the injured runner inspired millions by hobbling to the finish of his Olympic race.
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Flo-Jo - the American Sprinter with Hollywood Style
Sat 23 Jun 2012
Her husband and coach Al Joyner recalls Flo-Jo's four medal wins at Seoul in 1988
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Maradona's 'Hand of God'
Sat 16 Jun 2012
Former England striker Gary Lineker on Maradona's historic goals in the 1986 World Cup.
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