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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Bob Champion wins the National
Sat 14 Apr 2012
How Bob Champion overcame cancer to win the Grand National horse race in 1981.
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Boat Race Mutiny
Sat 7 Apr 2012
The Oxford coach on an unprecedented mutiny by a group of American rowers in 1987.
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Cliff Young - Potato Farmer and Ultrarunner
Sat 31 Mar 2012
How ageing potato farmer Cliff Young, became an Australian running legend.
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The Three Degrees
Fri 23 Mar 2012
Three black players who found fame in the British football league in the 1970s.
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The Death of Ayrton Senna
Fri 16 Mar 2012
Ayrton Senna was one of the best Formula One drivers ever, He died in a crash in 1994
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The Jamaican bobsled team
Fri 9 Mar 2012
In 1988 the Caribbean island fielded a bobsled team at the Winter Olympics.
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Women's Marathon Pioneer
Fri 2 Mar 2012
How Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967
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Sir Stirling Moss
Fri 24 Feb 2012
In 1955, Sir Stirling Moss faced his biggest motor racing challenge - the Mille Miglia.
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Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
Fri 17 Feb 2012
How an attack on the ice skater Nancy Kerrigan, shocked the USA in 1994.
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Hassiba Boulmerka Defies Death Threats
Fri 10 Feb 2012
How the Algerian runner's success made her a political opponent for extremists
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American Football's "Greatest Game"
Fri 3 Feb 2012
How the "Greatest Game" in American Football turned the sport into a modern phenomenon.
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London's Austerity Olympics
Fri 27 Jan 2012
How the 1948 Olympics helped London emerge from its post-war gloom.
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Zambian football crash
Sat 21 Jan 2012
How Zambia overcame tragedy to reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994.
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FA Cup Giantkillers
Fri 6 Jan 2012
How tiny Hereford United won one of the greatest FA cup ties of all time in 1972.
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The "Cotswold Olimpicks" of 1612
Fri 30 Dec 2011
How British Olympic history started 400 years ago with the games held in the Cotswolds.
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Ron Clarke's Heart Stops at the Mexico Olympics
Fri 16 Dec 2011
Altitude sickness caused 10,000m race favourite to collapse at the finishing line in 1968
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Lady Swimmers of the 1920s
Fri 9 Dec 2011
How three British women swimmers took the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics by storm
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Summit Series Ice Hockey - Canada vs USSR 1972
Fri 2 Dec 2011
How Canada beat the Soviet Union to win one of the biggest ice hockey games of all time.
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Princess Anne at the 1976 Olympics
Fri 25 Nov 2011
The Princess talks about being part of the British eventing team at the Montreal Olympics
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Precious McKenzie - South African Weight-lifter
Fri 18 Nov 2011
How he escaped apartheid South Africa and achieved international success
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Ping Pong Diplomacy
Fri 11 Nov 2011
How table tennis helped bridge the divide between the US and Maoist China in 1971.
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Duncan Goodhew and the Moscow Olympic boycott
Fri 4 Nov 2011
How the 1980 Moscow Olympics created a moral dilemma for British swimmer, Duncan Goodhew.
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Rumble in the Jungle
Sat 29 Oct 2011
In October 1974 one of the greatest boxing matches of all time took place in Zaire
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Rugby World Cup Unites South Africa
Sat 22 Oct 2011
How the 1995 Rugby World Cup helped unite the new South Africa.
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Boston Red Sox win World Series at last
Sat 15 Oct 2011
How the Boston Red Sox finally won the baseball World Series in 2004.
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America's Cup Goes To Australia
Sat 24 Sep 2011
How the Australian yachting team won the America's Cup in 1983.