Sporting Witness

In 1967, the American athlete became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon despite attempts to stop her. At the time, officials believed women were incapable of running more than a mile and a half. The experience turned Kathrine Switzer into a campaigner for women's sport. She spoke to Sporting Witness in 2012.

PHOTO: Associated Press.

In April 1958 a group of Algerian players secretly left their clubs in France to form their own national team. Some had already been selected to play for France in the upcoming World Cup Finals. Saint Etienne striker, Rashid Mekhloufi, recalls the day that changed his footballing life.

Photo: The 1958 Algerian revolutionary team, reunited 30 years later. Rashid Mekhloufi is second from the right, front row

In 1954, West Germany faced the all-powerful Hungarian side of Ferenc Puskas in the football World Cup final in Switzerland. Despite going two goals down, the Germans fought back and seized an epic win with six minutes to go. The 'Miracle of Bern' gave a new sense of confidence to a nation still scarred by Nazism and the legacy of World War Two. Lucy Burns brings together archive recordings of two of the German footballers who played in the match.

(Photo: The West German team celebrate at the final whistle. Credit: Bongarts/Getty Images).

In 2006, Scott Jurek, one of the world's best ultramarathon runners, travelled to the remote canyons of Northern Mexico to race the best athletes from an ancient Mexican tribe. The Tarahumara have a tradition of running huge distances and they gave Jurek one of his toughest races, inspiring the best-selling book, "Born To Run". Scott Jurek talks to Sporting Witness.

PHOTO: Scott Jurek with Tarahumara runner, Arnulfo Quimare. (Luis Escobar)

In 1950, the US won a famous victory over England at the World Cup in Brazil. The only goal was scored by a Haitian, Joe Gaetjens, playing for his adopted country. After the tournament, he returned to Haiti - only to be taken away by Papa Doc Duvalier's secret police and never seen again. Joe Gaetjens' son, Lesly, talks to Sporting Witness. PHOTO: AP

This edition of Witness is a Whistledown Production for the BBC World Service.

In 2001, Alex Zanardi, the Italian racing driver and two-time winner of the American Indy Car Series, lost both his legs in a horrific crash. Despite his injuries, he managed to return to motor-racing and launch a second career as a gold-medal winning handcyclist. Alex Zanardi talks to Will Yates.

Picture: Getty Images Sport.

The programme is a Whistledown Production for BBC World Service.

Just ten weeks before the Barcelona Olympics Silken Laumann, a Canadian rower, suffered a horrific leg injury.

After six weeks she got back on the water. "Here I was still using a wheelchair, a massive skin graft on my leg. I could not walk without pain. I got into that boat with some help, there were a few adjustments to take some of the strain off my broken ankle."

After four operations, she managed to make it to the final and win a bronze medal, becoming a national hero in Canada.

This programme was first broadcast in March 2014.

Picture: Silken Laumann, Credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Sport.

In February 1964, Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston fought the first of two of the most controversial boxing bouts in history. The 22-year-old Ali - then still known as Cassius Clay - was the young pretender taking on a veteran with a reputation for knockouts. He became world champion in circumstances that are still disputed to this day. Witness speaks to an American sportswriter with a ringside seat.

PHOTO: Hulton Archive/Getty Images.