Sporting Witness

Between 1982 and 1984, UEFA held the first European Competition for Women's Football. 16 teams battled it out across Europe.

The final was between Sweden and England.

Rachel Naylor speaks to the Swedish captain Anette Börjesson.

(Photo: Anette Börjesson (left) shakes hands with England captain Carol Thomas before the second leg of the 1984 final in Luton. Credit: Empics/Peter Robinson)

After 14 years training and riding in a variety of tours, cyclist Yohann Gene from Guadeloupe, finally earned approval from his coach and was selected to race in the 2011 Tour De France. He then made history by becoming the first black man to finish the brutal race.

(Getty Images: Yohann Gene in the Tour de France)

Despite being hampered by injury in Athens 2004, Darren Campbell helps the British 4x100 metre relay team cause one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.

(Getty: Darren Campbell at the Athens 2004 Olympics)

In July 2013, a record crowd of 41,000 people watched as Germany beat Norway in the women's European championship final in Sweden. The victory meant that Germany had won an unprecedented six European Championships in a row. Goalkeeper, Nadine Angerer, was Germany’s star player and captain for that tournament. She has been telling her story to Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Nadine Angerer in action at the 2013 European Championships. Credit: Getty Images)

In July 2010, the German cyclist Jens Voigt crashed while descending a mountain in the Pyrenees during the Tour De France. With his bike destroyed and his team support cars a long way up the road, Voigt borrowed a child’s bike and rode the next 15 kilometres on it. He talks to Ashley Byrne.

(Photo: Jens Voigt in action at the 2010 Tour De France. Credit: Getty Images)

The story of how a Wimbledon first round tie between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010 became the longest tennis match in history, stretching over three days. Matt Pintus has been speaking to the match umpire, Mohamed Lahyani.

PHOTO: John Isner, Nicolas Mahut and Mohamed Lahyani (Getty Images).

In 2000, Jill Heinerth was already a renowned diver, known for her exploits mapping vast underground cave networks in Florida. Filming for a National Geographic documentary brought a new and unprecedented challenge; a vast iceberg known as B-15 had broken away from an ice shelf in Antarctica, providing a unique chance to explore its networks of underground caves. Braving sub zero temperatures and the treachery of constantly shifting ice, Jill became the first person to ever enter one of these caves - a historic milestone in diving. She tells her story to Emily Finch.

PHOTO: The B-15 iceberg (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In 1996 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was one of the most promising and talented basketball players in the NBA. That was before he stopped standing with his teammates when American flag was raised and the national anthem played at the start of each game. Uma Doraiswamy spoke to him and heard how his meteoric rise was cut short because of his principles.

Photo: Mahmoud Abdul Rauf at a game in March 1996 (Getty Images)

In May 2005, Liverpool came from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan in the Champions League final, in what became known as “The Miracle of Istanbul”. Dietmar Hamann helped turn the game around for Liverpool when he was substituted on for the second half. Ben Henderson spoke to him about his memories from the night, and what happened at half-time to inspire one of the most famous comebacks in Champions League history.

Thanks to BBC Radio Merseyside for commentary from the match.

PHOTO: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard raises the Champions League trophy (Getty Images)

It's 25 years since Ryneldi Becenti became the first Native American to play in the women's NBA when she made her debut for the Phoenix Mercury. Basketball is a big sport on Native American reservations and success made Becenti a hero in her community. In 2019, Lucy Burns spoke to Ryneldi Becenti about her career and her challenging family background.

Photo: Ryneldi Becenti playing for Arizona State University (courtesy Arizona State University)