Sporting Witness
BBC World Service
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.
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Top 10 Sporting Witness Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Sporting Witness episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Sporting Witness for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Sporting Witness episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Viv Anderson - first black England footballer
Sporting Witness
10/22/20 • 12 min
In November 1978, Viv Anderson became the first black footballer to play a full England international. The son of Jamaican immigrants, Anderson had to endure racial abuse from opposing fans to achieve his dream of reaching the very top of the professional game. He went on to win the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest and to become Sir Alex Ferguson’s first signing at Manchester United. Viv Anderson talks to Rebecca Kesby.
PHOTO: Viv Anderson on his England debut (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The closest Tour de France ever
Sporting Witness
07/25/19 • 8 min
In 1989, American Greg Lemond won the Tour de France by just eight seconds – the narrowest margin in the 100-year history of the race. Lemond took victory by beating local hero Laurent Fignon in the final time trial on the Champs-Elysees. Greg Lemond talks to Ashley Byrne. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production.
PHOTO: Greg Lemond during the 1989 Tour (Getty Images)
The football war
Sporting Witness
07/18/19 • 9 min
The World Cup qualifiers that preceded a brief but bloody conflict between El Salvador and Honduras in the summer of 1969. The war between the Central American neighbours was over land rights and a long-running border dispute. Mike Lanchin has been hearing from the former captain of the Salvadorean football team, Salvador Mariona.
Photo: Salvador Mariona shows a picture of the El Salvador national team during the World Cup Mexico 1970 (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images)
Germany's 'Golden Goal' heroine
Sporting Witness
06/27/19 • 8 min
In 2003, Germany won the Women's World Cup for the first time thanks to a powerful extra-time header in the final against Sweden from defender Nia Künzer. Künzer's strike was a Golden Goal, which gave instant victory to the Germans and was later voted Goal of the Year in Germany, ahead of any efforts by men. Nia Künzer talks to Lucy Burns about a match that helped put the women's game on the map.
(Photo: Nia Künzer, centre, at the 2003 World Cup. Credit: Getty Images)
Ibtihaj Muhammad - Fencing in a hijab
Sporting Witness
06/04/20 • 9 min
In 2016, the Muslim-American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad made history by becoming the first US athlete to wear a hijab at the Olympic Games. After facing questions about her hijab and political views throughout her career, Ibtihaj was trailed by the global media throughout the Rio games. She overcame a shaky start to win a bronze medal in the team sabre event. Ibtihaj Muhammad has since written a popular autobiography and even inspired a hijab-wearing Barbie doll. She talks to Farhana Haider.
PHOTO: Ibtihaj Muhammad (Getty Images)
The lost tapes of a Manchester United hero
Sporting Witness
11/25/23 • 9 min
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 stored away in a friend's attic. Les died from a heart attack in 2001 at the age of 43.
More than twenty years on, the tapes have been re-discovered and turned into a book called "On Days Like These: The Lost Memoir of a Goalkeeper."
Matt Pintus has been listening through the tapes for Sporting Witness.
(Photo: Les Sealey raises his arms aloft. Credit: Getty Images)
Cara Honeychurch's tenpin strike
Sporting Witness
09/30/23 • 9 min
Australian tenpin bowler Cara Honeychurch on her incredible streak of becoming World Champion and Bowler of the Year in 1996, then winning three golds at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.
She speaks to Ashley Byrne in this Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service.
(Photo: Cara Honeychurch bowling in Melbourne, Australia in 2003. Credit: Jeff Crowe / Sport the Library)
Black Day for Democracy
Sporting Witness
02/13/16 • 9 min
In February 2003, Zimbabwean cricketers Henry Olonga and Andy Flower risked their careers to protest against President Mugabe during the World Cup. After issuing a statement condemning the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, the players took to the field wearing black armbands to symbolise what they considered the "Death of Democracy" in their country. Henry Olonga talks to Rob Walker for Sporting Witness.
PHOTO: Henry Olonga (Getty Images)
'Collision in Korea'
Sporting Witness
12/05/15 • 9 min
In 1995, the Japanese wrestler, Antonio Inoki, organised an international tournament in secretive North Korea. Featuring wrestling stars from Japan and America, the Collision in Korea was an attempt to foster peace through sport and attracted crowds in the hundreds of thousands. Ashley Byrne reports. The programme is a Made-in-Manchester Production.
(Photo: The crowd at the Collision in Korea in Pyongyang. Credit: Getty Images).
The first Tokyo Olympics
Sporting Witness
07/22/21 • 9 min
The first Olympic Games in Japan were held in 1964, less than 20 years after the country lost the Second World War. The bombed-out centre of Tokyo had been virtually rebuilt following the Allied Occupation, and the Japanese took the opportunity to showcase new technology such as the Bullet Train and colour TV broadcasts. Ashley Byrne talks to wrestling gold medallist, Yojiro Uetake, about his memories of the games. The programme is a Made In Manchester Production.
PHOTO: Japanese student Yoshinori Sakai about to light the Olympic Cauldron in October 1964 (Keystone/Getty Images)
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FAQ
How many episodes does Sporting Witness have?
Sporting Witness currently has 614 episodes available.
What topics does Sporting Witness cover?
The podcast is about History, Podcasts and Sports.
What is the most popular episode on Sporting Witness?
The episode title 'Manchester United's record-breaking treble' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Sporting Witness?
The average episode length on Sporting Witness is 9 minutes.
How often are episodes of Sporting Witness released?
Episodes of Sporting Witness are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Sporting Witness?
The first episode of Sporting Witness was released on Jul 30, 2011.
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