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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Rugby's greatest upset
Sat 9 Sep 2023
How Japan shook the world by beating South Africa at the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup
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The first cricket helmet
Sat 2 Sep 2023
In 1977, batsman Dennis Amiss was the first cricketer to wear a protective helmet.
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Pat Rafter wins The US Open
Sat 26 Aug 2023
How the Australian tennis player surprised the world by winning The US Open in 1997
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Cricket's Blackwash test series
Sat 19 Aug 2023
The West Indies beat England 5-0 in a 1984 test series that became known as Blackwash
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The first female NBA referee
Sat 12 Aug 2023
In 1997 Violet Palmer stepped out on court to become the first female NBA referee
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Nigeria's path to the Women's World Cup
Sat 5 Aug 2023
How the Nigerian women’s football team were the first African side in the 1991 World Cup.
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First women's Tour de France
Sat 29 Jul 2023
Marianne Martin talks about winning the first official women’s Tour De France in 1984
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The first Women's World Cup sticker album
Sat 22 Jul 2023
How Panini made their first football World Cup sticker album for the women's tournament.
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Jana Novotna: From choker to champion
Sat 15 Jul 2023
How the Czech player fought back from a tearful defeat to finally win Wimbledon in 1998
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Chris Lewis shocks Wimbledon
Sat 8 Jul 2023
How New Zealand's Chris Lewis, ranked 91 in the world, reached the Wimbledon men's final.
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The first Â鶹ԼÅÄless World Cup
Sat 1 Jul 2023
How the football tournament first came about and challenged perceptions of homelessness.
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Shun Fujimoto - Japan's injured Olympic hero
Sat 24 Jun 2023
The Japanese gymnast who won a team gold in 1976 despite competing with a broken knee.
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Mitchell Johnson's Ashes
Sat 17 Jun 2023
How Australia's Mitchell Johnson recovered from ridicule and destroyed England's batsmen
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Man Vs Horse
Sat 10 Jun 2023
Can a man beat a horse in a race? Since 1980 a Welsh town has been trying to find out
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Albert Johanneson: The first black FA Cup finalist
Sat 3 Jun 2023
How South African Albert Johanneson became the first black footballer in the FA Cup final.
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Kabaddi’s Asian Games golden debut
Sat 20 May 2023
The 2010 Asian Games saw women’s kabaddi included for the first time
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Battle of Bramall Lane
Sat 13 May 2023
The only game in English football history to be abandoned due to a shortage of players.
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The start of the J.League
Sat 6 May 2023
How the first match of Japan's first professional football league kicked off in Tokyo
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Indian weightlifting’s ‘Iron Lady’
Sat 29 Apr 2023
How weightlifter Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal
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Bomb scare at The Grand National
Sat 15 Apr 2023
The story of the 150th Grand National which was disrupted by an IRA bomb scare.
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Ernst van Dyk: Ten-time Boston Marathon winner
Sat 8 Apr 2023
How wheelchair racer Ernst van Dyk won the Boston Marathon a record-breaking tenth time.
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The Marseille bribery and match fixing scandal
Sat 1 Apr 2023
In 1993, European champions Marseille were charged with bribery and match fixing.
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First women's Six Nations Rugby Championship
Thu 23 Mar 2023
French rugby star Nathalie Amiel reflects on winning the first Six Nations in 2002
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Ammo Baba: Iraq's footballing hero
Thu 16 Mar 2023
The footballer and coach loved by the people of Iraq
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Irene Van Dyk: Netball’s goal shooting star
Thu 9 Mar 2023
She is the most capped netballer of all time
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The boxing referee who started a riot
Thu 2 Mar 2023
A New Zealand referee quit after starting a riot during the Summer Olympics of 1988
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The first Basketball World Cup
Thu 23 Feb 2023
In 1950, Argentina hosted, and won, the inaugural Basketball World Cup
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Muay Thai: World champion Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu
Thu 16 Feb 2023
American Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu became one of the most successful Muay Thai fighters
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The Vatican's mini-World Cup
Thu 9 Feb 2023
In 2007, trainee priests competed to win the first football Clericus Cup