Sporting Witness

Joseph Pilates developed a system of strengthening exercises which are now practised all over the world. He called it "contrology", but it's now better known as just Pilates.

We hear from Mary Bowen, one of the Pilates Elders, who studied with Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara in New York in the 1950s.

PICTURE: Joseph Pilates (1883 - 1967), exercising at his 8th Avenue studio in New York City, circa 1960. He is using a machine with bars and pulleys, which are tensed by the exerciser against the pull of springs. (Susan Schiff Faludi/Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In the Roaring Twenties, women's swimming was a glamorous sport and the best athletes were household names around the world. In 1928, three British swimmers - Joyce Cooper, Jean McDowell and Cissie Stewart - took the Amsterdam Olympics by storm. They shared their memories with the oral historian, Anita Tedder. The programme is a Whistledown Production. It was first broadcast in 2011.

Photo: The British women's team in Holland.

In 1972, war veteran Murlikant Petkar won India's first ever Paralympic gold medal at the Heidelberg Games. Petkar had been shot and paralysed seven years earlier in a battle during the war with Pakistan, but then took up sprint swimming. He talks to Adrian Moorhead. The programme is a Sparklab Production for BBC World Service.

(Photo: Murlikant Petkar with his medals)

In 2012, the Rwandan sitting volleyball team became the first Paralympians from their country. The sport began in Rwanda after thousands of people were mutilated during the genocide of 1994, and there were emotional scenes in London when the Rwandan side eventually won a match. Bob Nicholson talks to Rwanda’s captain, Emile Vuningabo, and the side’s Dutch coach, Peter Karreman. The programme is a Whistledown Production.

PHOTO: The Rwandan team blocking a shot at London 2012 (Getty Images)

In 1991, Willy T Ribbs became the first African-American driver to take part in the Indianapolis 500 - the biggest motor sport event in the USA. He talks to Jo Parsons about his long battle for sponsorship and the inspiration of Muhammad Ali.

(Photo: Willy T Ribbs. Credit: Associated Press)

The Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell, is famous for refusing to run on a Sunday in the Paris Olympics of 1924. But, as depicted in the film Chariots of Fire, he went on to win Gold in a different event - the 400 metres. After the Olympics, Eric Liddell became a Christian missionary in China, where he died in an internment camp during World War Two.

Simon Watts tells the extraordinary story of Eric Liddell's life using archive material and an interview with Steve Metcalf, a survivor from the camp. The programme was first broadcast in 2011.

(Photo: Eric Liddell. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1984, the women's marathon was held in the Olympic Games for the first time.

But to the horror of the crowd in Los Angeles, one of the runners, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss of Switzerland, entered the stadium in a state of virtual collapse from heat exhaustion.

The 40-year-old ski instructor was not used to the hot Californian climate. She had to hobble her way around the final lap of the race.

The crowd of ninety thousand people in the LA Memorial Colosseum cheered her on as she made it to the finish line.

Andersen-Scheiss tells Ashley Byrne about her ordeal. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production that was first broadcasted in 2016.

(Photo: Andersen-Scheiss finishing the race in 1984. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1952, the Czechoslovak army officer, Emil Zatopek, won three distance-running gold medals at the Helsinki Olympics. As well as achieving a unique feat in athletics, Zatopek charmed the world at the height of the Cold War with his blend of fun, generosity and ability to speak eight languages. Simon Watts introduces archive recordings of Emil Zatopek and talks to Richard Askwith, author of "Today we die a little: The rise and fall of Emil Zatopek".

PHOTO: Emil Zatopek leading the Olympic 5,000 metres in 1952 (AFP/Getty Images)

In 1976, the 14-year old Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, achieved the first "Perfect 10" at the Olympic Games. Nadia scored six more 10s in Montreal and became an international celebrity. In 2011, she spoke to Madeleine Morris.

PHOTO: Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Olympics (Getty Images)

At the 1996 games in Atlanta, Nigeria became the first African team to take football gold at the Olympics. A side featuring many future legends beat Argentina and Brazil on their way to a victory that brought joy to a nation still under military dictatorship. Alex Last talks to Supereagles midfielder Sunday Oliseh.

(Photo: The Nigerian team celebrate. Credit: Getty Images)