Sporting Witness

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 for 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.

(Photo: Enrique and Viviana Corcuera pictured in the 1980s. Credit: Viviana Corcuera)

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 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 groundbreaking 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.

(Photo: Isatou Nyang was the first athlete to compete for The Gambia in the 2012 Paralympic Games. Credit: Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

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.

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.

(Photo: Margaret lights The Paralympic Cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics. Credit: Getty Images)

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 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.

(Photo: Trischa Zorn-Hudson competing during the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Credit: Getty Images)

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 Martin Kirketerp and Pavle Kostov tell Marta Medvešek the story of a rollercoaster medal race.

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 groundbreaking 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.

(Photo: Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketerp Ibsen of Denmark in a spare boat borrowed from the Croatian team as they compete in the 49er class race in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

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)