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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Kenya's first Winter Olympian
Thu 5 Jan 2023
How cross-country skiing united a Kenyan farmer and a Norwegian Winter Olympic hero.
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The Maccabiah Games
Thu 29 Dec 2022
The first Maccabiah Games, a multi-sport event for Jewish athletes, were held in 1932
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The Mongol Rally: Racing in one of the greatest road trips on Earth
Thu 22 Dec 2022
Racing from England to Mongolia in a car with a tiny engine
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Nicol David: How to be a number 1 squash player for 9 years
Thu 15 Dec 2022
Nicol David on becoming world number 1 in squash and staying there for 9 years in a row.
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Ruud Krol: The World Cup meets Total Football
Thu 8 Dec 2022
How the Netherlands' style and flair stole the show at the 1974 World Cup
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Zaire's infamous World Cup free-kick moment
Thu 1 Dec 2022
How Zaire's reaction to Brazil's free-kick in the 1974 World Cup became folklore.
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Kuwait at the 1982 World Cup
Thu 24 Nov 2022
The Gulf state's first and only World Cup appearance, with a camel as team mascot
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When Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup
Thu 17 Nov 2022
Diana Ross' iconic penalty miss at the 1994 World Cup
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The Golden Girls of Zimbabwe
Thu 10 Nov 2022
How the women's hockey team won an unexpected first Olympic gold in 1980
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Tonton Zola Moukoko: The best Championship Manager player ever
Thu 3 Nov 2022
The cult hero whose real life didn't match his computer stardom
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The day we beat the All Blacks
Thu 27 Oct 2022
Gareth Jenkins relives Llanelli Rugby Club’s iconic 1972 victory over the All Blacks.
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How baseball helped bridge the US-Cuba divide
Thu 20 Oct 2022
How the Baltimore Orioles became the first Major League team to play in communist Cuba
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China's first golf champion
Thu 13 Oct 2022
Shanshan Feng was the first Chinese golfer ever to win a major championship back in 2012.
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The bizarre twist in South Africa’s ultramarathon
Thu 6 Oct 2022
Runner Nick Bester notices something suspicious at South Africa’s Comrades ultramarathon.
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How I helped bring down Lance Armstrong
Thu 29 Sep 2022
One journalist's 12 year pursuit of drug cheat Lance Armstrong
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Derartu Tulu: Africa's first black female Olympic champion
Thu 22 Sep 2022
Derartu Tulu became the first black African woman to win gold in Barcelona in 1992
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Rose Reilly
Thu 15 Sep 2022
Banned from playing football in her native Scotland, Rose Reilly represented Italy.
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Kosovo’s first Olympic medal
Thu 8 Sep 2022
Majlinda Kelmendi won the first medal for Kosovo since the country gained independence.
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Ben Johnson
Thu 1 Sep 2022
Ben Johnson was disqualified 48 hours after winning the Olympic 100 metre final in 1988
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Coaching the world's best tennis players
Thu 25 Aug 2022
Tennis coach Rick Macci on training future world number ones Serena and Venus Williams
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The most controversial three seconds in basketball history
Thu 18 Aug 2022
The USSR faced the USA in the 1972 Olympic men's basketball final
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Sydney Olympics’ vault fault
Thu 11 Aug 2022
At the Olympics in 2000, a fault with gymnastics equipment changed the course of a final
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Nick Skelton's bid for gold
Thu 4 Aug 2022
British showjumper Nick Skelton's 33 year quest for an Olympic medal.
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The first Women's Euros
Thu 28 Jul 2022
Between 1982 and 1984, UEFA held the first European Competition for Women's Football
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Yohann Gene - The Tour de France's first black cyclist
Thu 21 Jul 2022
Yohann Gene from Guadeloupe made history by being the first black man to race in the Tour
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Britain's Golden Relay
Thu 14 Jul 2022
Britain's 4x100m relay team cause one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history in Athens
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Nadine Angerer: Germany’s penalty-saving heroine
Thu 7 Jul 2022
How Nadine Angerer became Germany's penalty saving heroine
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Jens Voigt: Riding the Tour De France on a child's bike
Thu 30 Jun 2022
The unusual solution that kept a cyclist in one of the world's greatest races
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The longest tennis match of all time
Thu 23 Jun 2022
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battle it out at Wimbledon in the longest match of all time.
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Baseball's bionic man
Thu 16 Jun 2022
The revolutionary surgery that saved baseball pitcher Tommy John's elbow and career.