Sporting Witness

In the opening game of the 1990 World Cup, rank outsiders Cameroon faced the reigning champions, Argentina - led by Diego Maradona. Few gave Cameroon a chance. Alex Last speaks to one of the Cameroon team about a defining game for African football. (Photo: Getty Images Sport)

In 1999, the American footballer, Brandi Chastain, scored the winning penalty in the Women's World Cup final against China. She caused controversy by tearing off her shirt in celebration to reveal her sports bra. Brandi Chastain talks to Sporting Witness. PHOTO: Getty Images.

In 1967, the American athlete became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon despite attempts to stop her. At the time, officials believed women were incapable of running more than a mile and a half. The experience turned Kathrine Switzer into a campaigner for women's sport. She spoke to Sporting Witness in 2012. PHOTO: Associated Press.

In April 1958 a group of Algerian players secretly left their clubs in France to form their own national team. Some had already been selected to play for France in the upcoming World Cup Finals. Saint Etienne striker, Rashid Mekhloufi, recalls the day that changed his footballing life. Photo: The 1958 Algerian revolutionary team, reunited 30 years later. Rashid Mekhloufi is second from the right,...

In 1954, West Germany faced the all-powerful Hungarian side of Ferenc Puskas in the football World Cup final in Switzerland. Despite going two goals down, the Germans fought back and seized an epic win with six minutes to go. The 'Miracle of Bern' gave a new sense of confidence to a nation still scarred by Nazism and the legacy of World War Two. Lucy Burns brings together archive recordings of two...

In 2006, Scott Jurek, one of the world's best ultramarathon runners, travelled to the remote canyons of Northern Mexico to race the best athletes from an ancient Mexican tribe. The Tarahumara have a tradition of running huge distances and they gave Jurek one of his toughest races, inspiring the best-selling book, "Born To Run". Scott Jurek talks to Sporting Witness. PHOTO: Scott Jurek with Tarahum...

In 1950, the US won a famous victory over England at the World Cup in Brazil. The only goal was scored by a Haitian, Joe Gaetjens, playing for his adopted country. After the tournament, he returned to Haiti - only to be taken away by Papa Doc Duvalier's secret police and never seen again. Joe Gaetjens' son, Lesly, talks to Sporting Witness. PHOTO: AP This edition of Witness is a Whistledown Produc...

In 2001, Alex Zanardi, the Italian racing driver and two-time winner of the American Indy Car Series, lost both his legs in a horrific crash. Despite his injuries, he managed to return to motor-racing and launch a second career as a gold-medal winning handcyclist. Alex Zanardi talks to Will Yates. Picture: Getty Images Sport. The programme is a Whistledown Production for BBC World Service.

Just ten weeks before the Barcelona Olympics Silken Laumann, a Canadian rower, suffered a horrific leg injury. After six weeks she got back on the water. "Here I was still using a wheelchair, a massive skin graft on my leg. I could not walk without pain. I got into that boat with some help, there were a few adjustments to take some of the strain off my broken ankle." After four operations, she man...

In February 1964, Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston fought the first of two of the most controversial boxing bouts in history. The 22-year-old Ali - then still known as Cassius Clay - was the young pretender taking on a veteran with a reputation for knockouts. He became world champion in circumstances that are still disputed to this day. Witness speaks to an American sportswriter with a ringside seat....

In 1984, the British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean entranced the world with their performance of Ravel's Bolero at the Winter Olympics. Torvill and Dean scored a row of perfect 6s and stormed to Olympic gold. They speak to Alex Collins about their world record performance. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sp...

In 1976, the legendary Austrian skier won one of the most exciting Olympic downhill races of all time. Franz Klammer 'The Kaiser' was the overwhelming favourite, but he had to take massive risks to claim gold in front of his home crowd at Innsbruck. Klammer talks to Sporting Witness. Picture: Franz Klammer, Credit: AFP/Getty Images.

In 1964, Britain won its only Olympic bobsleigh gold medal in an event that became famous for an act of sportsmanship by Eugenio Monti of Italy. Sporting Witness talks to the British team. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

At the 1980 Winter Olympics, the USA faced the USSR in a Cold War ice hockey showdown. Witness speaks to an American and a Soviet player about one of the biggest upsets in sporting history. PHOTO: Getty Images

In 1998, a Kenyan farmer called Philip Boit became one of the first Africans to compete in the Winter Olympics. In the 10-kilometre cross-country skiing final he faced the legendary Norwegian, Bjorn Daehlie. It was a race that would unite the two athletes and inspire future Winter Olympians across Africa. PHOTO: Getty Images.

In 1988, the American speedskater was told on the day of the Olympic final that his sister had died of cancer. Stricken by grief, he then fell during his race. It took Dan Jansen another six years - and five more Olympic races - before he finally won gold. (Photo: Dan Jansen. Credit: Getty Images Sport)

In 1988, the glamorous East German skater, Katarina Witt, and her American rival, Debbi Thomas, both chose to dance the role of Carmen in the final of the Olympics. For Sporting Witness, Witt recalls a contest that became known as the "Battle of the Carmens". PHOTO:

Fred Dove presents the highlights from Sporting Witness, the series which reveals the inside story of key moments in sporting history. It's packed with stories of endurance, personal triumph and injustices, and we hear from Martina Navratilova about the personal cost of her defection, learn how Dick Fosbury came up with his revolutionary way of high-jumping and discover why the French team turned...

The Ethiopian distance-runner Haile Gebrselassie defeated his greatest rival Paul Tergat of Kenya in one of the narrowest victories ever in the 10,000m event. He entered athletics history at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 by successfully defending his 10,000 metre title and beating Tergat by less than one second. Presented by Fred Dove. This programme was first broadcast in July 2012. Picture: Ethiop...

In 1968, the American athlete Bob Beamon, made a jump that many thought would never be bettered. "As I struck that lightboard, I went up over six feet... and then I'd landed at this distance that was described as a freak." In a single leap at the Mexico City Olympics, he improved the world record by more than half a metre. His new world record for long jump was 8.90m. Sporting Witness speaks to Bo...

In 1978, Martina Navratilova won her first ever Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon. Navratilova's victory followed her dramatic defection from Czechoslovakia and signalled the start of her domination of women's tennis. Martina Navratilova talks to Sporting Witness. PHOTO: BBC

In 1992, the British 400-metre runner Derek Redmond, popped his hamstring in the Olympic semi-final. Instead of giving up, Redmond hobbled in agony to the finish line - determined to complete his race. Half-way round, Redmond's father, Jim, ran on to the track to help his son home. It's an Olympic story that's inspired millions of people around the world. Derek Redmond talks to Sporting Witness. P...

At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, the American sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner was the first American woman to win four medals in a single games - golds for the 100m, the 200m and the women's 4×100m relay, and a silver for the women's 4×400m relay. She achieved world records in both her 100m and 200m which still stand to this day. Flo-Jo, as she was nicknamed, was also famous for her flamboyant nai...

In 1986, Argentina striker Diego Maradona scored two goals against England which have gone down in World Cup history. The first goal is now known as the "hand of God" and the second as the "goal of the century". England frontman Gary Lineker saw both goals go in and shares his memories with Sporting Witness. (Image: Argentina's Diego Maradona scoring his side's first goal past English goalkeeper P...

In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes. At the time this was one of the greatest prizes in athletics. He tells his story to Rob Walker. (Photo: Roger Bannister winning the AAA Championships Mile race in 1954. Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)