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Sporting WitnessEpisodes
Episodes of Sporting Witness
Mark All
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Alex Higgins was the two-times World Snooker champion from Northern Ireland whose speedy style of play helped turn the game into a must-watch sport. But, away from the table, he was a wild boy – whose gambling, drinking and womanising eventuall
It's 20 years since Mianne Bagger became the first transgender athlete to play in pro golf tournament. The Danish golfer made history by competing at the 2004 Women’s Australian Open. It was a landmark moment for trans sport and made headlines
In 2007, 52-year-old Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel became the first person to swim the entire length of the Amazon River. It took him 66 days to complete and, over the course of his journey, Strel faced threats such as pirates, shark
A bonus episode from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast – The Black 14. Sport, racism and protests are about to change the lives of “the Black 14” American footballers. It’s 1969 in the United States. They’ve arrived on scholarships at the Unive
Roberto Duran and Dave Radford were from different worlds.Roberto, a champion boxer considered one of the greatest to ever step into the ring. Dave, a part-time plasterer in the North of England, boxing in leisure centres and social clubs.But i
In 1980, Roland Butcher became the first black cricketer to represent England. It was in a one day match against Australia.Born in Barbados, his first tour was against his home region of the West Indies. He’s been speaking to Claire Bowes about
The badminton champion Rajeev Bagga grew up in India, winning deaf and hearing competitions in his home country and abroad. He has won 14 gold medals at the Deaflympics, which is the second oldest multi-sport and cultural festival in the world
In the 1976 Formula One motor racing season, South African driver Jody Scheckter became the first and only person to ever win a race in a six-wheeled car. Competing against him in Sweden was American Mario Andretti. In this episode, both former
In 1984, the women's marathon was held in the Olympic Games for the first time.But to the horror of the crowd in Los Angeles, one of the runners, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss of Switzerland, entered the stadium in a state of virtual collapse from
In April 2001, the small island nation of American Samoa took on Australia in the World Cup qualifiers. You could only play for the team if you held an American passport, which automatically ruled out the majority of the American Samoans, leavi
It was supposed to be a friendly match between Egyptian giants Zamalek and Czechoslovakian side Dukla Prague, but before the game started there was a deadly crush in the crowds.The day before the game on 17 February 1974, the venue had been cha
In 1996, South Africa won the Africa Cup of Nations, bringing sporting joy to a country still recovering from Apartheid.It was the Bafana Bafana team's first victory at an international football tournament.In 2015, two members of the multi-raci
In 1984, Lamine Gueye of Senegal became the first black African skier to take part in the Winter Olympics.The grandson of a prominent Senegalese politician, Gueye founded his country's ski federation and for a long time was the only member.In 2
Lin Dan has dominated badminton for several decades. The Chinese star nicknamed 'Super Dan' clinched the sport's Super Grand Slam - winning 9 major titles by the age of 28 and the first player to achieve the feat. But it was his Olympic Games G
The Elfstedentocht is one of the toughest sporting events there is. It’s an ice skating race around the lakes and canals of the northern Dutch province of Friesland – and it can only take place when it is particularly cold. The last one was in
In 2000, Sven-Goran Eriksson got the job as manager of England’s men’s football team. He was the first non-English person to do the job.Some in England were sceptical about an overseas coach when Sven moved from his post at Lazio in Italy to su
In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima was leading the Men’s Marathon with six kilometres to go. What happened next shocked the millions of fans watching and propelled Vanderlei into becoming a universal role model for sportsm
In 1970, Yuichiro Miura became the first man to ski on Mount Everest, starting from the height of the ‘death zone’, an elevation where there isn't enough oxygen to survive for long. His daring ski run saw him reach a speed of 160 kilometres per
Caster Semenya was just 18-years-old when she won gold in the 800 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Her victory was controversial because the South African runner was facing questions over her gender. So much so, that she was ma
In 2003, arguably one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Roger Federer won the Wimbledon Men’s title. Aged just 21, it was his first major win and was the start of a record eight men’s single titles at the championships. Uma Doraiswamy
In December 1993, EA Sports released Fifa International Soccer, also known as Fifa 94.The football game sold half a million copies in its first month and went on to become a cultural phenomenon.Coder Jan Tian was the lead developer. He tells Vi
In 1978, first division football side West Bromwich Albion became the first professional British club to visit communist China. The visit came as the communist country wanted to improve relations with the West after the death of Chairman Mao Z
In 1994, Manchester United goalkeeper Les Sealey sat down to record his memoir. He'd played a key role in helping Alex Ferguson win his first trophy as United's manager in 1990. No takers were found for Les' story and the cassette tapes were st
In 2003, Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh, came up with the idea of combining two of his passions – chess and boxing. Using the cerebral strategy of chess along with the physicality of boxing, the winner is decided by either a checkmate or knockout.
In 2006, Lindsey Jacobellis was riding high in the world of snowboarding and arrived at that year’s Winter Olympics in Turin in Italy, a firm favourite to win gold in the inaugural Snowboard Cross event. What followed was the most infamous mome
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