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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First official penalty shootout
Saturday
How a game between Hull City and Manchester United in 1970 changed football forever
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The Czech Republic at Euro 96
Sat 21 Mar 2026
The unfancied Czech Republic's remarkable run in Euro 96
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The first Women’s Six Nations Rugby Championship
Sat 14 Mar 2026
In 2002, the first Women’s Six Nations Rugby Championship was played
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The English samurai
Sat 7 Mar 2026
In 1977, Michael Jay is the first foreigner in 1000 years to take part in the Soma Nomaoi
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Emil Zatopek at the Helsinki Olympics
Sat 28 Feb 2026
In 1952, at the Summer Olympics, the Czechoslovak army officer won three gold medals
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The X Games
Sat 21 Feb 2026
In 1995, the first ever Extreme Games featuring sports like BMXing took place
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Sibling success on the slopes
Sat 7 Feb 2026
The Croatian siblings who made history at the 2003 Alpine Ski World Cup
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Playing rugby during Syria’s civil war
Sat 31 Jan 2026
How rugby union thrived during Syria's civil war
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India’s 1948 hockey gold medal
Sat 24 Jan 2026
In 1948, newly independent India won gold in the hockey final at the Olympic Games
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Senna’s first Formula 1 win
Sat 17 Jan 2026
In 1985, Ayrton Senna won his first Formula 1 race in torrential rain
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The Nasa swimsuit that rocked the 2008 Olympics
Sat 10 Jan 2026
The swimsuit was worn to break 23 records in the Olympic pool before it was banned
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Football's Next Star
Sat 3 Jan 2026
In 2009, a TV show earned Ben Greenhalgh a contract at Italian Champions Inter Milan
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ProZone: football's data revolution
Sat 27 Dec 2025
In the 1990s, Ramm Mylvaganam came up with an idea that would revolutionise football
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A Cold War hockey match
Sat 20 Dec 2025
In 1961, after the Berlin wall went up, Scotland’s women’s hockey team faced West Germany
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Afghanistan’s international ski scene
Sat 13 Dec 2025
How the mountains of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan became a skiing hub
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Nigeria at the first Women’s World Cup
Sat 6 Dec 2025
In 1991, Nigeria became the first team from Africa to play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup
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The Premier League’s first female photographer
Sat 29 Nov 2025
Magi Haroun was the first female photographer in the Premier League
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2005 Ashes: Pratt runs out Ponting
Sat 22 Nov 2025
Substitute fielder Gary Pratt runs out Australian captain Ricky Ponting
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Malice at the Palace
Sat 15 Nov 2025
How a NBA game spiralled into one of the most infamous brawls in sport's history.
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Colonel Gaddafi’s son plays in Italy’s top football league
Sat 8 Nov 2025
Italian top-flight side Perugia made the unusual signing of Al-Saadi Gaddafi in 2003
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The race that stops a nation
Sat 1 Nov 2025
Michelle Payne describes being the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup
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Sofia Mulanovich’s first world surfing championship win
Sat 25 Oct 2025
Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich became the first South American to win a world surfing title
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Mira Rai: Child soldier to sky runner
Sat 18 Oct 2025
Mira Rai served in the Nepalese civil war as a teenager before becoming a sky runner
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When Greg Louganis hit his head on a diving board
Sat 11 Oct 2025
At the Seoul 1988 Olympics, the US diver hit his head while attempting a reverse 2½ pike
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The first Esports tournament
Sat 4 Oct 2025
In 1972, the first ever Esports tournament was held at California's Stanford University
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Between two giants: Thrilla in Manila’s referee
Sat 27 Sep 2025
Carlos Padilla on refereeing Ali v Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila fight 50 years ago
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Second time around
Sat 20 Sep 2025
German high jumper Ulrike Nasse-Meyfarth on winning two Olympic golds 12 years apart
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Bula Choudhury – India's record breaking swimmer
Sat 13 Sep 2025
In 2004 Bula Choudhury became the first woman to swim the straits of the seven seas
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Oscar De La Hoya: ‘I knocked him down, he knocked me down’
Sat 6 Sep 2025
WBC welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya's showdown against Ike Quartey from Ghana
































