Sporting Witness

At the 1948 Olympics, one Dutch athlete showed that being a housewife and mother was no obstacle to Olympic glory. Fanny Blankers-Koen won gold in four events: the 100m and 200m sprints, the 80m hurdles and the 100m relay. But not all the attention was positive. Fanny got letters telling her she should be doing the housework and not running around stadiums in shorts. Vicky Farncombe tells her stor...

In 2009, Ram Barkai, a swimmer from Cape Town, in South Africa, broke the world record for the longest swim in freezing cold water. He completed the endurance feat wearing only a cap, goggles and standard swimming costume. Delighted with his achievement, he had a ‘Mandela moment’ and began promoting a new extreme sport which he called ice swimming. Within a few short months, the ice mile was born....

In 1983, the ultra-runner Ron Grant took on an epic challenge - to became the first person to run around Australia. The 13,383 kilometre jog took him seven months. Grant overcame injuries, crew mutinies and serious financial debt, before being greeted by huge crowds at the finish line in Brisbane. He spoke to Ashley Byrne in 2019. A Made In Manchester production. Eye-witness accounts brought to li...

In 1987, Colonel Gaddafi, sponsored a struggling German ice hockey team called ECD Iserlohn. The Libyan dictator paid a million dollars for the team to wear an image of his infamous “Green Book” on their kits, but the sponsorship deal outraged fans and became a media scandal. In 2017, David Prest spoke to former Iserlohm player, Earl Spry, and the writer, Gabriel Luis Manga. A Whistledown producti...

In 2005, British motorcycle rider, Maria Costello, became the first ever woman to reach the podium at the infamous Isle of Man TT course. In doing so, she also became the fastest woman ever around the course. The Isle of Man TT is one of the most challenging and unforgiving motorsport events in the world, the ultimate test for both riders and machines. Maria was awarded an MBE in 2009 in recogniti...

In March 1975, West Germany – the newly crowned world champions – came to London’s Wembley Stadium for a friendly against England. Among the German squad was a 28-year-old striker who’d already attracted a lot of attention from the British media: not because he’d been hailed as the new Gerd Müller, Germany’s legendary goal scorer, but because of the colour of his skin. Erwin Kostedde was the son o...

In 2014, fighter Cecilia Braekhus helped end Norway’s 33 year ban on professional boxing, thanks to a parliamentary points decision. The so-called ‘knockout’ law had been in place since 1981 because the Norwegian parliament thought professional fights - lasting up to 12 rounds and with no helmets - were too dangerous. It meant that Cecilia and other Norwegian boxers had never been able to fight pr...

In 2004, the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico went into their opening basketball game of the Athens Olympics as massive underdogs against the USA. The Puerto Rican side had lost five consecutive games by double digit points to the USA's star-studded squad in qualifiers and warm ups. But the unfancied team defied the odds with the performance of a lifetime, led by their own inspirational star, Carlo...

The Norwegian chess grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen, has been known as the "Mozart of chess" since childhood. In 2014, he became the first player ever to win all three world chess titles in one year, achieving the highest official rating of any player in history. He speaks to Ben Henderson. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sport...

In 1992 history was made at the Olympics in Barcelona as 12 former Soviet republics competed for the first and only time as the Unified Team. It was the final time the countries who had been part of the USSR took part in sporting events as the same team. And it marked a revolution for athletes who had been part of the Soviet athletics machine like World Champion Ukrainian fencer Sergei Golubitsky....

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were the undisputed King of Clay and King of Grass respectively. But who would win on a hybrid court made up of half grass and half clay? That was the idea from Argentinean creative entrepreneur and tennis fan Pablo del Campo, who wanted to stage the exhibition match which would be watched by millions. As Rafael Nadal retires from professional tennis, Pablo tells Uma...

In November 1973, Netherlands women’s football team lined up for their country’s first official international. It was a major step on the road to the development of the game, both in the Netherlands and in England, who were their opponents that day. Now over 50 years on from that game, with the two countries both now powerhouses in women’s football, Matthew Kenyon speaks to one of the players from...

In 2008, Union Berlin played in the third division in German football. They were best known for the extraordinary atmosphere at their unique stadium, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, which is surrounded by forest in East Berlin. But long term financial challenges for the club meant the stadium was becoming too run down to use. The team was at risk of having to move, until fans volunteered in th...

In 1961, Brojen Das, a swimmer from the Ganges Delta, set a new world record for swimming from France to England. It was his sixth attempt. The achievement earned him an audience with the Queen and made him a hero in what is now Bangladesh. Farhana Haider spoke to his daughter, Sanghita Pal, in 2016. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fasci...

Hungarian Agnes Keleti is the world's oldest living Olympian at 103. Her gymnastics career was interrupted by the war when she was forced to flee Nazi persecution in Budapest because of her Jewish faith. She was the most successful athlete at the 1956 Summer Olympics, winning four golds and two silvers. Ashley Byrne speaks to Agnes’ nephew John Bence who watched his aunt as a teenager. This is a M...

The Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania in October 2014 was politically charged between the two nations. But the opening exchanges in Belgrade had passed without major incident, until a drone carrying a flag appeared in the sky above the pitch, with violent breaking out on and off the pitch. Albania’s captain Lorik Cana and football reporter Nick Ames speak to Jack Butcher about that in...

In 1964, the first ever African Cup of Champions took place in Ghana, as teams from around the continent competed to be crowned the best team in African club football. It was won by Cameroonian champions Oryx Douala and Justice Baidoo speaks to Oryx Douala player Maurice Epétè about his memories of the tournament. It’s a Made in Manchester production for the BBC World Service. Eye-witness accounts...

Brian McKechnie is one of the few people in history to have represented New Zealand in both international rugby and international cricket. He has also been at centre of two of the country’s biggest major sporting controversies. He speaks to Will Yates. This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for...

In 1996, Thailand watched in awe as the Iron Ladies, a men’s volleyball team made up of gay and trans athletes, triumphed over the country’s best and won the national championships. Yet despite their outstanding success, none of the team from the northern province of Lampang were selected for the national squad, as the Volleyball Association of Thailand was concerned that they would harm the count...

Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jr recalls taking part at the launch of Formula E in Beijing, China in 2014. It was the world’s first racing championship for electric cars. The idea for the competition, going through some of the world’s most iconic cities, was written on the back of a napkin in 2011 by former FIA president Jean Todt and founder Alejandro Agag. Nelson, a former Formula One competito...

Have you ever invented a game to pass the time while on vacation? Well, what if that game became a global sensation? In 1969, Enrique and Viviana Corcuera created Padel while on holiday. With federations in six continents and millions of players around the world, Padel is now the fastest growing sport on the planet. Viviana shares her experience with Hunter Charlton. It’s an Ember Audio production...

In 2012, The Gambia made their first appearance at the Paralympic Games. President of the Gambian National Paralympic Committee Sulayman Colley speaks to Justice Baidoo about how he succeeded in organising the team for the London games. A Made in Manchester Production for the BBC World Service. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated...

In 1960, the Italian city of Rome played host to the first ever Paralympic Games. More than 400 athletes gathered to compete in the international competition – all of them were wheelchair users. Margaret Maughan was a member of the British team and won the UK's first Paralympic gold medal for archery. In 2010, she shared her memories of the games with Mike Gallagher. Margaret died in 2020, aged 91...

Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most decorated Paralympian in history. Competing across seven games, Trischa - who has been blind since birth - won a remarkable haul of 55 medals. In that time, she also saw the Paralympics go through drastic changes, as competitors campaigned to get similar privileges and rights as Olympic athletes. Trischa shares memories of her career with Matt Pintus. Eye-witness ac...

In 2008, the Danish 49er sailing team won one of the most dramatic sailing golds in Olympic history. Going into the final race, Denmark had a comfortable lead. But on their way to the start line, their mast snapped in stormy seas, seemingly crushing their chances of securing a medal. The only hope of salvaging their Olympic dreams rested on the selflessness of their Croatian competitors. Sailors M...