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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Donald Campbell and Bluebird
Sat 30 Dec 2017
The record-breaking British driver who was killed in a jet-boat accident in 1967.
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The Sydney to Hobart Yachting Disaster
Sat 23 Dec 2017
Hurricane force storms led to 6 deaths and 50 sailors airlifted in a daring sea rescue.
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Colonel Gaddafi's Ice Hockey Team
Sat 16 Dec 2017
How the Libyan dictator sponsored a failing German ice hockey team in the 1980s.
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The Bosman Ruling Revolutionises Football
Sat 9 Dec 2017
How a Belgian footballer won a court ruling that transformed the transfer market.
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Lopez Lomong - From "Lost Boy" To The Olympics
Sat 2 Dec 2017
The former Sudanese refugee who carried the flag for the USA at the 2008 Olympics.
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Jana Novotna - Wimbledon Heroine
Sat 25 Nov 2017
How the late Czech tennis player went from weeping loser to popular Wimbledon winner.
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Pam Reed: Winning Ultramarathons in Death Valley
Sat 18 Nov 2017
The woman who beat all the men in the notorious Badwater Marathon in California
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The First Ultimate Fighting Championship
Sat 11 Nov 2017
How the fast-growing sport of mixed martial arts was launched in America in 1993.
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Kelly Kulick - Ten Pin Bowler
Sat 4 Nov 2017
The first woman to compete at the same level as men in the professional game.
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The Climbing Pioneer Who Conquered El Capitan
Sat 28 Oct 2017
Lynn Hill was first to free-climb 'The Nose', 3,000ft of vertical granite wall
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Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost: Formula One's Greatest Rivalry
Sat 21 Oct 2017
How the feud between two motor-racing giants spilled onto the track in 1989.
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The "Battle Of The Sexes" Tennis Match
Sat 14 Oct 2017
In 1973, Billie-Jean King made tennis history by winning a challenge game against a man.
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Iranian Football's "Mr Hat-Trick"
Sat 7 Oct 2017
How the Irish-born footballer, Eamon Zayed, became a folk hero in Iran.
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O.J. Simpson Makes American Football History
Sat 30 Sep 2017
How his 1973 season with the Buffalo Bills made O.J. Simpson a superstar.
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Chioma Ajunwa: Making Olympic History
Sat 23 Sep 2017
How Nigerian athlete Chioma Ajunwa stunned the world at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996
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The Creation of Ironman
Sat 16 Sep 2017
How one of the world's hardest endurance events was invented in Hawaii in 1978.
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Nawal El Moutawakel - Pioneer of Muslim Women's Athletics
Sat 9 Sep 2017
How a Moroccan woman hurdler took victory at the 1984 Olympics and inspired a generation.
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'Fast Freddie' Spencer - Motorcycling's Child Prodigy
Sat 2 Sep 2017
The American motorbike rider who won his first world championship aged 21
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The Olympic Hero Who Rescued His Fellow Sailors
Sat 26 Aug 2017
How Canadian Lawrence Lemieux was hailed for his sportsmanship at the 1988 Olympics.
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Alison Hargreaves
Sat 19 Aug 2017
Memories of the great British woman mountaineer killed in the Himalayas in August 1995.
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Sergey Bubka - Pole Vault Legend
Sat 12 Aug 2017
How the legendary Ukrainian athlete won his toughest World Championship in 1997.
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John Daly - The "Wild Thing" of Golf
Sat 5 Aug 2017
How the maverick golfer became a superstar overnight by winning the US PGA as a rookie.
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Pat Tillman - The American Football Hero Killed in Afghanistan
Sat 29 Jul 2017
How a sports star turned military hero died in a controversial friendly fire incident.
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Eddy Merckx - Tour De France Legend
Sat 22 Jul 2017
Memories of the Belgian cyclist so feared he was known as "The Cannibal".
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Boris Becker - Teenage Wimbledon King
Sat 15 Jul 2017
How the unseeded German teenager became Wimbledon champion in 1985.
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Sheryl Swoopes - Queen of Basketball
Sat 8 Jul 2017
The Olympic gold medallist who became one of the first stars of the women's NBA.
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Fred Perry - Tennis Legend
Sat 1 Jul 2017
The British tennis player who became a global celebrity in the 1930s
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The First Women's Cricket World Cup
Sat 24 Jun 2017
Women players from England and the West Indies recall the inaugural tournament in 1973.
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Maradona's Failed Doping Test
Sat 17 Jun 2017
How the Argentine superstar was expelled from the USA 1994 soccer World Cup.
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Tibet's Football Team
Sat 10 Jun 2017
How a retired Danish footballer formed the Tibetan national team in 2001.