Breaking makes its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but its origins as a sport go back to 1970s New York.

Michael Holman formed a group of the most talented breakdancers in the city called 'The New York City Breakers'.

He remembers when the crew performed at a salute for the US Olympic team in 1984, where they wrote a proclamation backstage - proposing it should be a future event at the games, with a set of rules to go with it.

This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.

(Photo: Breakdancers in 1984 in New York, Brooklyn. Credit: Getty Images)

The 2004 Athens Olympics in Greece were hailed as the Games coming home to its ancient and modern birthplace.

But, on the eve of the opening ceremony, a breaking scandal involving two of the host nation's biggest sporting stars threatened to overshadow the celebration.

This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.

(Photo: Kostas Kenteris' and Ekaterini Thanou's Olympic passes. Credit: Getty Images)

Sailor Pavlos Kontides was 22 when he competed in the 2012 Olympics. Although he had taken part in the Beijing, he was considered one of the favourites going into the London games.

He became the first Cypriot athlete to win a medal for his country, by competing in the Men’s Laser class. He spoke to Matthew Kenyon about what his success meant to him and his country.

(Photo: Pavlos Kontides sailing for Cyprus in the 2012 Olympics. Credit: Getty Images)

The 1994 Wimbledon Championships were dominated by one story - whether Martina Navratilova could bow out with a record-breaking tenth title.

The 37-year-old looked on course to do so, making it to the final where she'd face 22-year-old Spanish player, Conchita Martinez.

The scene was set but Conchita hadn't read the script.

Thirty years on, she shares her memories of that day with Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Conchita Martinez. Credit: Getty Images)

It's 30 years since the murder of Colombian footballer, Andres Escobar.

Just days before his fatal shooting, Escobar had scored an own goal for Colombia at the 1994 World Cup.

He had been blamed for his country's early exit from the tournament and many linked his death directly to his mistake on the pitch.

Matt Pintus has been through the BBC World Service archive, listening to interviews with the Colombian journalist Luis Fernando Restrepo, a friend of Escobar's who saw him on the night he was killed.

(Photo: Andres Escobar playing for Colombia. Credit: Getty Images)

Jewish tennis star Liesl Herbst dreamt of playing at Wimbledon but after Hitler invaded Austria, she was banned from competing.

After fleeing from the Nazis with her family to London, she finally played two months before World War Two began.

When it resumed in 1946, Liesl returned with her daughter Dorli to play in the ladies' doubles.

They remain the only mother and daughter who have competed together at Wimbledon.

Felice Hardy, granddaughter of Liesl and daughter of Dorli, author of The Tennis Champion Who Escaped The Nazis, speaks to Megan Jones.

(Credit: Hardy)

In June 1976, Muhammad Ali was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Ali travelled to Tokyo, Japan to face his next opponent, the professional wrestler Antonio Inoki.

In a first of its kind, the exhibition fight called “The War of the Worlds” was met with controversy because of the rules applied.

Ringside Photographer Claude Charlier tells Sean Allsop how the fight unfolded in a packed Budokan Hall and how many now consider this fight the origin of MMA Mixed Martial Arts.

(Photo: Muhammad Ali stands over Antonio Inoki, 1976. Credit: Claude Charlier)

In 1988, the Soviet Union made it to the final of the European Championships where they faced competition favourites, the Netherlands.

It proved to be the side’s last great achievement before the breakup of the union.

Soviet defender Sergei Baltacha remembers coming on as a substitute to mark the world’s best player, Marco van Basten.

He speaks to Tim Mansel.

(Photo: Sergei Baltacha tackling Holland's Ruud Gullit. Credit: Reuters)

In August 1971, a group of footballers were catapulted from obscurity to overnight stardom in Mexico when record-breaking crowds turned out as the country hosted a forerunner of the women’s World Cup.

With women’s football still in its infancy after being suppressed in many parts of the world for decades, players got a taste of the sport’s potential popularity when they appeared in front of 100,000 fans in Mexico’s biggest grounds.

One of the English team, Trudy McCaffery, tells Ian Youngs what it was like to go from playing in empty parks to the packed Azteca Stadium – and back.

(Photo: Trudy McCaffery with scrapbox. Credit: Trudy McCaffery)

It's 30 years since John Aldridge made headlines for all the wrong reasons during a World Cup match between Ireland and Mexico.

The Irish striker lost his temper with a match official, after not being allowed to take to the field as a substitute. Ireland were losing the match 2-0 and needed a goal.

Aldridge and his manager, Jack Charlton, were pictured on television broadcasts around the world shouting expletives.

Both were punished after the game, but when Aldridge finally was allowed on the pitch, he scored a goal to give Ireland a chance to get back into the game.

He shares his memories of that day with Alan Hamilton. This episode is narrated by Tricia Penrose.

A Moon Road Production for BBC World Service.

(Photo: John Aldridge shouting at FIFA official. Credit: Shutterstock)