Sporting Witness

When Lisa Lindahl couldn't find a comfortable bra to run in, she decided to design one. In 1977 she and a friend fashioned the first modern sports bra out of two pairs of men's supportive underwear or 'jockstraps'. Lisa told Rebecca Kesby how they perfected their design with the newly available stretchy fabrics of the late 1970s, and went on to build a multi-million dollar company.

(Photo: An early advertisement for "Jogbra" 1979. Courtesy of Lisa Lindahl's private collection.)

In February 1998, Paul Pritchard, then one of the world's leading rock climbers, suffered a life-changing brain injury while attempting to ascend a fearsome route in Tasmania called the Totem Pole. After years of rehab, he returned to complete the climb in 2016 using a single arm to pull himself up. Paul Pritchard talks to Simon Watts.

PHOTO: Paul Pritchard on the Totem Pole (personal collection)

In 1995, post-apartheid South Africa hosted, and won, the Rugby World Cup. It was a hugely unifying moment for the country. Hear from Francois Pienaar, captain of the victorious Springboks team about what it meant to him, and to the nation.

Image: Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Rugby World Cup trophy at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, 24 June 1995 (Credit: Philip Littleton/AFP/Getty Images)

In 1982, the first ever Gay Games were held in San Francisco. Attracting a large crowd and featuring more than 1000 athletes from more than 100 countries, the event was organised by a group of LGBT activists, including former Olympians, to raise awareness about homophobia in sport. The Gay Games are now held every four years at venues around the world. Ashley Byrne speaks to organiser Sara Waddell Lewinstein and athlete Rick Tomin.

PHOTO: An athlete at the first Gay Games (Getty Images)

In 1970, Diane Crump became the first woman jockey to compete in the Kentucky Derby – the most prestigious horse race in the United States. It was the climax of a pioneering professional career in which Crump was initially booed and heckled by race-goers and even by some male jockeys. She talks to Simon Jarvis. The programme is a Whistledown Production for the BBC World Service.

PHOTO: Diane Crump, centre (Getty Images)

In January 1976, the virtually unknown Mark Edmondson pulled off one of the greatest shocks in tennis history by winning the Australian Open on home soil. Ranked number 212 in the world, Edmondson had been working as a part-time hospital cleaner just weeks earlier. In the final, he defeated the all-time Aussie great, John Newcombe, and he remains the last Australian to win the Open title. Mark Edmondson speaks to Ashley Byrne.

PHOTO: Mark Edmondson (Getty Images)

In 2008, former refugee Lopez Lomong carried the flag for the USA at the Beijing Olympics, before competing in the 1500 metres. As a child, Lomong fled from a prison for child soldiers in South Sudan, eventually reaching a refugee camp in Kenya where he was one of the thousands of so-called “Lost Boys”. Lomong was later adopted by an American family, who encouraged his dream to reach the Olympic Games. In 2017, he talked to Simon Watts.

PHOTO: Lopez Lomong in 2008 (Getty Images)

A story of banquets, diplomacy and football. In 1978, first division side, West Bromwich Albion became the first professional British football club to visit communist China. The visit came as China began to open up to the West after the power struggle which followed the death of Chairman Mao. Alex Last spoke to West Brom legend, Brendon Batson, about his memories of the historic tour.

In 2008 Jamaica's Usain Bolt burst onto the athletics scene at the Beijing Olympics, winning both the 100 metres and 200 metres in world record times. Ian Williams talks to Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, and fellow Jamaican sprinter, Michael Frater, about the year Bolt became a global superstar.

(Photo: Usain Bolt at the 2008 Olympics, Getty Images)

Refusing to give up - Julie Moss made history in 1982 when she crawled to the finish line, having collapsed just metres from the end of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. It was her first competitive triathlon and she came second, but as she explains to Rebecca Kesby for Witness - that heroic fight for the line changed her life, and her attitude to the sport. The moment also inspired a surge in popularity for Ironman - until then a little known event.

(Photo Copyright, Carol Hogan Photojournalism)