Sporting Witness

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

World Service,710 episodes

Episodes

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Skiing in Afghanistan
How an international skiing scene developed in the mountains of Bamiyan province in 2011
06 Jan 2022,9 mins
Yale women rowers protest
In 1976, the Yale rowing team stripped naked to demand equal treatment for women's sport.
30 Dec 2021,9 mins
Nigeria's Paralympic heroine
The shot-putter with dwarfism whose gold medal celebration went viral on social media.
23 Dec 2021,9 mins
Bangladesh's football heroes
How the national football team helped the country's fight for independence in 1971.
16 Dec 2021,9 mins
The Tibetan football team
How a group of exiles set up the first Tibetan national team in 2001.
09 Dec 2021,9 mins
The football wages revolution
How England's top players fought for their salary cap to be lifted in 1961.
02 Dec 2021,9 mins
Zenyatta
The superstar American race-horse who was the first mare to win the Breeders' Cup
25 Nov 2021,9 mins
The woman who rowed the Atlantic
Tori Murden McClure built her own boat and became the first woman to row the Atlantic.
18 Nov 2021,9 mins
Lebanon's match-fixing scandal
The investigation that rocked Lebanese football and ruined the country's World Cup hopes.
11 Nov 2021,9 mins
Zola Budd
The South African-born runner remembers her famous collision with US rival Mary Decker.
04 Nov 2021,9 mins
The Dumptruck: King of sumo
How a Hawaiian-born wrestler stormed the traditional world of Japanese sumo in the 1980s
28 Oct 2021,9 mins
Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Heptathlon Queen
In 1988, the American athlete put in one of the greatest performances in Olympic history.
21 Oct 2021,9 mins
Born to Run: Mexico's Tarahumara Indians
The epic race between America's top ultramarathon runner and an ancient Mexican tribe
14 Oct 2021,9 mins
Japan's Keirin cycling phenomenon
How the uniquely Japanese track cycling event made its Olympic debut in 2000.
07 Oct 2021,9 mins
Cameroon's Triple Jump Queen
How motherhood inspired Francoise Mbango to two Olympic gold medals.
30 Sep 2021,9 mins
Golf's 'war by the shore'
The bitter confrontation between the USA and Europe at the 1991 Ryder Cup
23 Sep 2021,9 mins
The Queen of Women's Beach Volleyball
How America’s Misty May-Treanor won an Olympic gold medal three times.
16 Sep 2021,9 mins
The struggle for women's football in Afghanistan
Former captain Shamila Kohestani on why football in Afghanistan was more than a game
09 Sep 2021,9 mins
India's first Paralympic champion
In 1972, war veteran Murlikant Petkar won India's first Paralympic gold medal.
02 Sep 2021,9 mins
Brazil's blind sprinting legend
How Terezinha Guilhermina went from a Brazilian favela to Paralympic glory.
26 Aug 2021,9 mins
Hou Bin wows the world
The Chinese athlete who lit the Paralympic flame after a stunning feat of strength.
19 Aug 2021,9 mins
Kenya's Paralympic Record-Breaker
How blind runner, Henry Wanyoike, set world records and won Paralympic golds.
12 Aug 2021,9 mins
The Golden Couple of the first Tokyo Olympics
British runners Ann Packer and Robbie Brightwell were stars of the 1964 Olympics
05 Aug 2021,9 mins
Zamzam Farah - Somalia's inspiring runner
The Somali 400-metre runner who was forced to seek asylum after the London 2012 Olympics
29 Jul 2021,9 mins
The first Tokyo Olympics
How a new modern Japan emerged on the world stage at the 1964 Olympic Games
22 Jul 2021,9 mins
Stacy Dragila - Queen of the Women's Pole Vault
The American vaulter who won the first ever Olympic women's competition at Sydney 2000
15 Jul 2021,9 mins
Bjorn Borg
The Swedish tennis superstar who won Wimbledon five times in a row
08 Jul 2021,9 mins
France’s Euro 2000 triumph
Robert Pires on how the French became European champions in dramatic style
01 Jul 2021,9 mins
The Panenka penalty
How the Czechoslovak midfielder created a daring new style of penalty at Euro 76
24 Jun 2021,9 mins
Football's Coming Home
How England sparked a mood of national euphoria at Euro 96 before it ended in tears
17 Jun 2021,9 mins