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 Dumptruck: King of sumo
Thu 28 Oct 2021
How a Hawaiian-born wrestler stormed the traditional world of Japanese sumo in the 1980s
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Heptathlon Queen
Thu 21 Oct 2021
In 1988, the American athlete put in one of the greatest performances in Olympic history.
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Born to Run: Mexico's Tarahumara Indians
Thu 14 Oct 2021
The epic race between America's top ultramarathon runner and an ancient Mexican tribe
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Japan's Keirin cycling phenomenon
Thu 7 Oct 2021
How the uniquely Japanese track cycling event made its Olympic debut in 2000.
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Cameroon's Triple Jump Queen
Thu 30 Sep 2021
How motherhood inspired Francoise Mbango to two Olympic gold medals.
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The Queen of Women's Beach Volleyball
Thu 16 Sep 2021
How America’s Misty May-Treanor won an Olympic gold medal three times.
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The struggle for women's football in Afghanistan
Thu 9 Sep 2021
Former captain Shamila Kohestani on why football in Afghanistan was more than a game
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India's first Paralympic champion
Thu 2 Sep 2021
In 1972, war veteran Murlikant Petkar won India's first Paralympic gold medal.
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Hou Bin wows the world
Thu 19 Aug 2021
The Chinese athlete who lit the Paralympic flame after a stunning feat of strength.
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Kenya's Paralympic Record-Breaker
Thu 12 Aug 2021
How blind runner, Henry Wanyoike, set world records and won Paralympic golds.
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The Golden Couple of the first Tokyo Olympics
Thu 5 Aug 2021
British runners Ann Packer and Robbie Brightwell were stars of the 1964 Olympics
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Zamzam Farah - Somalia's inspiring runner
Thu 29 Jul 2021
The Somali 400-metre runner who was forced to seek asylum after the London 2012 Olympics
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The first Tokyo Olympics
Thu 22 Jul 2021
How a new modern Japan emerged on the world stage at the 1964 Olympic Games
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Stacy Dragila - Queen of the Women's Pole Vault
Thu 15 Jul 2021
The American vaulter who won the first ever Olympic women's competition at Sydney 2000
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France’s Euro 2000 triumph
Thu 1 Jul 2021
Robert Pires on how the French became European champions in dramatic style
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The Panenka penalty
Thu 24 Jun 2021
How the Czechoslovak midfielder created a daring new style of penalty at Euro 76
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Football's Coming ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Thu 17 Jun 2021
How England sparked a mood of national euphoria at Euro 96 before it ended in tears
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The Van Basten wonder goal
Thu 10 Jun 2021
How an amazing volley gave Holland their first victory at a big international tournament
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Denmark's shock Euros win
Thu 3 Jun 2021
How the Danes won the Euro 92 championship despite not even qualifying for the tournament
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Indonesia's badminton heroine
Thu 6 May 2021
How Susi Susanti won the first Olympic gold medal for her badminton-obsessed country
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Anthony Robles
Thu 29 Apr 2021
The one-legged wrestler who won a national college title in the United States in 2011
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The Scottish club that toppled Real Madrid
Thu 22 Apr 2021
Led by Alex Ferguson, Aberdeen beat the Spanish giants to win a European trophy in 1983
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The athlete who changed the rules on sex tests
Thu 15 Apr 2021
How a Spanish woman hurdler won the right to compete despite having male chromosomes
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Kuwait at the football World Cup
Thu 8 Apr 2021
The Gulf state's first and only World Cup appearance, with a camel as team mascot
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Ghana's runaway sprinters
Thu 1 Apr 2021
How two Ghanaian athletes escaped during the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1990
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Fighting for women's boxing
Thu 25 Mar 2021
The story of Gail Grandchamp, who campaigned for the right of women to box in the USA.
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When Col Gaddafi's son played football in Italy's Serie A
Thu 18 Mar 2021
In 2003, A.C. Perugia signed Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan dictator
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Zimbabwe's Paralympic pioneer
Thu 4 Mar 2021
How Elliot Mujaji won the first ever Paralympic gold medal for his country in 2000.
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The Gay Games
Thu 25 Feb 2021
The first international sports event for LGBT athletes was held in San Francisco in 1982.