Manchester City’s inflatable banana craze
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Manchester City supporters became famous for an unusual sight on the terraces: inflatable bananas. What b...
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Sporting Witness
The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history
Episodes
20 of 685 episodesMark Taylor's sporting sacrifice
In 1998, Australia's cricket captain Mark Taylor declared on 334 against Pakistan, equalling Sir Donald Bradman's highest Test score. Taylor...
Mr YouTube Man
In 2015, Julius Yego made history by becoming the first Kenyan to win a World Championship gold medal in a field event. Nicknamed Mr YouTube...
The first female photographer in the Premier League
In the 1990s Magi Haroun became the first female football photographer in the Premier League. She had begun her career in footballing photog...
The most successful Paralympian
The American swimmer Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most decorated Paralympian in history. Across seven games, Trischa, who was born blind, has...
The first Rubik's Cube world champion
On 5 June 1982, a teenage refugee from Vietnam became the first Rubik's Cube world champion. Representing the United States, 16-year-old Min...
Norway v England 1981: 'Your boys took a hell of a beating'
In 1981, Norway pulled off one of the biggest shocks in football history, beating England 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo. But the matc...
‘Baby Jet’ Ghana’s sprinting superstar
Alice Annum won two silver medals at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. It led to her becoming known as ‘Baby Jet’. She was also the first woman t...
Creating the English Premier League
In the 1990s, the biggest clubs in English football decided to form a new league to bring in more revenue. Spearheaded by the ‘big five’ of...
The first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship
In 1983, Maini Schildt competed in the first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. Maini was a teenager when, as part o...
The first time women played basketball at the Olympics
In 1976, women's basketball made its Olympic debut. Men's basketball had been part of the Olympic programme since 1936, yet it took another...
When Hearts’ dream season turned sour
In 1986, Edinburgh football club Heart of Midlothian, known as Hearts, came within touching distance of glory. Just a few years earlier, the...
When the NFL came to Europe
In 1991, the NFL decided to create an international league of American football teams. Six new teams were formed in the USA, one in Canada a...
The start of the Mexican Wave
On 15 October 1981, at a baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees in the USA, American cheerleader Krazy George...
Nadal describes his historic Wimbledon win over Federer
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...
The making of West Germany’s iconic 1990 football shirt
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 wearin...
Rebuilding Ronaldo’s knee
In 2000, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazario, known as Ronaldo, suffered a career-threatening knee injury whilst playing for Inter Milan at...
Brazil 1-7 Germany: Brazil's heaviest defeat
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...
Pickles the dog finds the World Cup trophy
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 bec...
When Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup
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...