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Hosted by BBC World Service · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 671 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
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
BBC World Service hosts Sporting Witness, a sports show with 671 episodes published.
On 15 October 1981, at a baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees in the USA, American cheerleader Krazy George Henderson got fans to stand up and sit down in sections around the stadium. Over
Rafael Nadal was known for being one of the best clay court tennis players but, ever since he started playing at four years old, it was his ambition to triumph on grass and win Wimbledon. After losing twice in the final
In July 1990, West Germany won the World Cup for the third time, beating Argentina 1-0 in Rome. The shirt the victorious players were wearing that night has become one of the most sought-after by classic kit collectors.
In 2000, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazario, known as Ronaldo, suffered a career-threatening knee injury whilst playing for Inter Milan at the age of 24. His physiotherapist, Nilton Petroni, said it was the ‘worst foot
Host nation Brazil were World Cup favourites in 2014, but the German team dismantled Brazil's defense and spirit by scoring five goals in 29 minutes. Germany's Thomas Müller tells Uma Doraiswamy how they inflicted Brazil
Pickles the dog became an unlikely hero before the 1966 World Cup when he found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy on his daily walk. Stardom beckoned as he was honoured with a medal and a role in a film, even becoming part o
In 1994, the USA hosted the FIFA World Cup for the first time. The choice of host nation was a controversial one because, at that time, the US didn't have an active professional football league. Alan Rothenberg was the m
In 1988, a scandal took place in Mexican football, which saw the men’s team banned from the 1990 World Cup. Mexico had fielded over-age players for the under-20s CONCACAF tournament, which was discovered by sports journa
When Shakhtar Donetsk won the UEFA Cup in 2009, it was meant to be the start of a new chapter for independent Ukraine. However, when war broke out in 2014, the team's ambitions were put on hold. The captain, Darijo Srna,
In 2016, Leicester City pulled off one of football’s greatest shocks. The club won the English Premier League despite starting the season as 5000:1 outsiders. Just a year earlier, they had narrowly avoided relegation. Ca
At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 the Nigerian 4x400m relay team surpassed expectations by winning silver in dramatic fashion. But, in the years that followed revelations about doping in the winning USA team began to emerge
In 2006, Italy's most successful team, Juventus, were relegated from the Italian top division due to their involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. The decision to demote Juventus came just days after Italy ha
The 1981 film Escape To Victory is a World War Two tale of a football match in a prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow. The climax of the movie is the match bet
In the 1990s, rollerblading had separate competitions for men and women. That changed in 2000, when the two were combined into one mixed competition. Brazilian Fabiola Da Silva was so good against the men that the change
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
In November 1993, James Miller interrupted the highly anticipated world heavyweight championship rematch between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe. He crashed onto the boxing ring ropes after parachuting into the outdoo
On 5 August 1970, a pre-season match between second division Hull City and European giants Manchester United changed football forever. With the game drawn, it became the first professional competitive fixture in the worl
In 1996, the Czech Republic played in their first major football tournament since the country's formation three years earlier. The unfancied team went on an unexpected run in the competition. One of the stars of the team
Nathalie Amiel was a star of French rugby for more than fifteen years, from when she started playing internationally aged 15. She was part of the team which won the Five Nations, as well as the European Championship four
In 1977, Michael Jay from England becomes the first foreigner to take part in the Soma Nomaoi which celebrates classical martial arts and military horsemanship. The Soma wild horse chase in Japan is an annual three day e
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Sporting Witness is hosted by BBC World Service. The show is categorised under sports (history) and has published 671 episodes.
Sporting Witness has published 671 episodes.
Sporting Witness regularly covers sports, history. It sits in the sports category, with a history focus.
Sporting Witness is accessible for guests with genuine sports expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Sporting Witness hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of Sporting Witness average 11 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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