Sporting Witness

The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history

World Service,710 episodes

Episodes

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The Unified Team at the 1992 Olympics
How former Soviet athletes competed for the first and only time as the Unified Team
23 Nov 2024,9 mins
Battle of the Surfaces
Rafael Nadal takes on Roger Federer on a tennis court made of half grass and half clay
16 Nov 2024,9 mins
First international for Netherlands women's football
Dutch footballer Ellen Popeyus was 16 when she played for her country in the first match
09 Nov 2024,8 mins
The football fans who built their own stadium
When Union Berlin had financial problems, their fans volunteered to renovate the stadium
02 Nov 2024,8 mins
Brojen Das: Bangladesh's Channel swimming champ
In 1961, Brojen Das broke the world record for swimming from France to England
26 Oct 2024,9 mins
Agnes Keleti: The world's oldest living Olympian
Hungarian Agnes Keleti is the world's oldest living Olympian at 103
19 Oct 2024,9 mins
The drone that started a riot
How a politically charged match between Serbia and Albania descended into violent chaos
12 Oct 2024,8 mins
The first African Cup of Champions
In 1964, the first ever African Cup of Champions took place in Ghana
05 Oct 2024,9 mins
Brian McKechnie: New Zealand's double international sportsman
Brian McKechnie has been in New Zealand teams for both international rugby and cricket
28 Sep 2024,9 mins
The Iron Ladies
How a Thai men’s volleyball team made up of gay and trans athletes won a championship
21 Sep 2024,9 mins
Formula E: The world’s first electric car championship
Nelson Piquet Jr competed in the first Formula E race in 2014, featuring 20 electric cars
14 Sep 2024,10 mins
The invention of Padel
In 1969, Enrique and Viviana Corcuera created Padel while on holiday
07 Sep 2024,9 mins
The Gambia's first Paralympic Games
In 2012, The Gambia made their first appearance at the Paralympic Games
31 Aug 2024,10 mins
Winning gold at the first Paralympics
In 1960, the first Paralympic Games took place
24 Aug 2024,8 mins
The most successful Paralympian in history
Trischa Zorn-Hudson has won 55 Paralympic medals
17 Aug 2024,8 mins
Winning Olympic gold in a borrowed boat
How Denmark's 49er sailing team won gold by borrowing the Croatian team's boat
10 Aug 2024,9 mins
Bringing breaking to the world stage
Breaking debuts as an Olympic sport in Paris
03 Aug 2024,9 mins
Greek sprinters scandal at the Athens Olympics
In 2004, a doping scandal broke involving two of the host nation's biggest stars
27 Jul 2024,9 mins
Cyprus's first Olympic medal
How a young sailor from Cyprus achieved success in the 2012 Olympics
20 Jul 2024,9 mins
Conchita Martinez: The woman who stopped Navratilova
In 1994, the 22-year-old Spanish tennis star won Wimbledon
13 Jul 2024,8 mins
The murder of Andres Escobar
In 1994, the footballer was shot dead following Colombia's exit from the World Cup
06 Jul 2024,9 mins
The tennis champion who escaped the Nazis
Liesl Herbst and her daughter Dorli played together at Wimbledon after World War Two
29 Jun 2024,8 mins
Muhammad Ali started MMA
Muhammad Ali’s controversial fight against professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976
22 Jun 2024,9 mins
The last great days of the Soviet Union
In 1988, the Soviet Union made it to the final of Euro '88
15 Jun 2024,10 mins
The forgotten Women's World Cup
In 1971, an unofficial Women's World Cup took place in Mexico
08 Jun 2024,9 mins
John Aldridge’s touchline temper at USA '94
In 1994, tempers flared in a football World Cup match between Ireland and Mexico
01 Jun 2024,8 mins
Manchester United's record-breaking treble
How Manchester United became the first team to win the treble
25 May 2024,8 mins
The fatal crash of Ayrton Senna
In 1994, three time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna died in a crash
18 May 2024,8 mins
Ghana's 'Baby Jet'
Ghanaian Alice Annum tells the story of how she became known as 'Baby Jet'
11 May 2024,9 mins
The first Venice Cup
In 1974, an international female bridge competition was launched in Italy
04 May 2024,8 mins