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.
Episodes to download
-
Rifaat Turk: Arab Superstar in Israeli Football
Sat 28 Nov 2015
How a Jaffa fisherman's son broke down barriers by making Israel's national team
-
-
Doping in East Germany
Sat 14 Nov 2015
Two former athletes describe the human cost of the Communist nation's drugs programme.
-
Jahangir Khan - King of Squash
Sat 7 Nov 2015
The legendary Pakistani player who went undefeated for five years in the 1980s
-
Jackie Robinson - Baseball Pioneer
Sat 24 Oct 2015
The legendary player who broke the colour bar in baseball and won the World Series.
-
Tanya Streeter Record Free Diver
Sat 17 Oct 2015
In 2002, free diver Tanya Streeter attempted to reach a record depth of 160m
-
Footballers for Peace in Ivory Coast
Sat 3 Oct 2015
How Didier Drogba and the Ivorian football team campaigned for an end to civil war.
-
The Boksburg Bomber
Sat 26 Sep 2015
How Gerrie Coetzee thrilled South Africa by becoming world boxing champion in 1983.
-
Iran's Triple Jumper Turned Pop Legend
Sat 5 Sep 2015
How Faramarz Assef switched from international athletics to music stardom.
-
New Orleans Saints Win the Superbowl
Sat 29 Aug 2015
How American Football success cheered up New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
-
Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics
Sat 15 Aug 2015
The American athlete won four gold medals at the 1936 games hosted by Nazi Germany
-
Mo Johnston - Scotland's Signing of the Century
Sun 9 Aug 2015
The Catholic football superstar who crossed the sectarian divide to sign for Rangers.
-
Billy Mills - Native American Hero
Sun 2 Aug 2015
The runner from an Indian reservation in the USA who won a shock Olympic victory in 1964.
-
Tom Simpson
Sun 26 Jul 2015
The legendary British cyclist who died on Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France
-
Scandal at the Tour de France
Sun 19 Jul 2015
In 1998, a doping scandal rocked the most prestigious race in cycling
-
Sylvia Gore and the start of Women's Football
Sun 5 Jul 2015
The Midfielder who Scored the First Ever International Goal for the England Women's Team.
-
The Greatest Long Jump Competition Ever
Sun 28 Jun 2015
In 1991, Americans Mike Powell and Carl Lewis took on the Long Jump world record.
-
US Wrestlers in Iran
Sun 21 Jun 2015
In 1998, Iran invited an American wrestling team to Tehran as a goodwill gesture.
-
Renee Richards: Transgender tennis star
Sun 14 Jun 2015
The transgender player who fought for the right to compete in tournaments as a woman
-
Le Mans Disaster
Sun 7 Jun 2015
How a crash at a motor race in France in 1955 killed 83 spectators and a famous driver.
-
Bert Trautmann: From Hitler Youth to the FA Cup
Sun 31 May 2015
The former Nazi paratrooper who became a hero to Manchester City fans in the 1950s
-
Wheelchair Racer Tanni Grey-Thompson
Sun 24 May 2015
How the British wheelchair racer won her greatest victory at the 2004 Paralympic Games
-
Haile Gebrselassie
Sat 16 May 2015
The legendary Ethiopian distance runner recalls winning the Olympics by one second.
-
Tito and Yugoslav Football
Sun 10 May 2015
How the death of the Yugoslav dictator made fans and players cry at a top game in 1980.
-
The Petty Family: Kings of Nascar
Sun 3 May 2015
How tragedy struck one of the most famous dynasties in American motor sport
-
Alberto Juantorena: Cuba's 'White Lightning'
Sun 26 Apr 2015
The Cuban runner who won a unique double at the 1976 Olympics and became a national hero
-
Judit Polgar - Chess Prodigy
Sun 19 Apr 2015
How the chess prodigy overcame sexism in her sport and defeated the all-time greats.
-
Yale Women Rowers Protest
Sun 12 Apr 2015
In 1976, the Yale rowing team stripped naked to demand equal treatment for women's sport
-
Black Golfer at the Masters
Sun 5 Apr 2015
In 1975, Lee Elder became the first African-American to play the prestigious tournament
-
Rwanda v Uganda: The Match that Made History
Sun 29 Mar 2015
The historic Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between footballing rivals Uganda and Rwanda