Sporting Witness

It's 20 years since the death of the scout responsible for finding some of the greatest players in Liverpool's history. Geoff Twentyman joined Bill Shankly's Liverpool in 1967 as chief scout, tasked with overhauling the club's recruitment system. Armed with his scouting diary, he unearthed lower league players who would later on go to be world beating superstars, including Kevin Keegan, Alan Hansen and Ian Rush. His two decades as chief scout contributed to the most successful period in the club's history - as they won nine titles, six domestic cups and six European trophies. In March 2024, a plaque celebrating Geoff along with the rest of 'the boot room boys' was unveiled outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium. His son, Geoff Jr, has been speaking to Matt Pintus. (Photo: Geoff Twentyman with the European Cup. Credit: The Twentyman family)

Alex Higgins was the two-times World Snooker champion from Northern Ireland whose speedy style of play helped turn the game into a must-watch sport. But, away from the table, he was a wild boy – whose gambling, drinking and womanising eventually led to his downfall. He died in 2010 at the age of 61. Producer Vicky Farncombe uses archive interviews to tell the story of Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins in his own words. (Photo: Alex Higgins. Credit: Getty Images)

It's 20 years since Mianne Bagger became the first transgender athlete to play in pro golf tournament. The Danish golfer made history by competing at the 2004 Women’s Australian Open. It was a landmark moment for trans sport and made headlines around the world. In 2021, Mianne Bagger spoke to Robbie Wojciechowski. (Photo: Bagger at the 2004 Women's Australian Open. Credit: Getty Images.)

In 2007, 52-year-old Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel became the first person to swim the entire length of the Amazon River. It took him 66 days to complete and, over the course of his journey, Strel faced threats such as pirates, sharks, and dengue fever. At 3,300 miles, it’s the longest open swim in history. He shares his experience of the swim with Hunter Charlton. It’s an Ember Audio production for BBC World Service. (Photo: Martin Strel pictured in London in 2009. Credit: Getty Images)

A bonus episode from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast – The Black 14. Sport, racism and protests are about to change the lives of “the Black 14” American footballers. It’s 1969 in the United States. They’ve arrived on scholarships at the University of Wyoming to play for its Cowboys American football team. It was a predominantly white college. The team is treated like a second religion. Then, the players make a decision to take a stand against racism in a game against another university. This is episode one of a four-part season from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast. Content warning: This episode contains lived experiences which involve the use of strong racist language

Roberto Duran and Dave Radford were from different worlds. Roberto, a champion boxer considered one of the greatest to ever step into the ring. Dave, a part-time plasterer in the North of England, boxing in leisure centres and social clubs. But in 1997, a series of unlikely events saw Dave down his tools, fly to South Africa and fight Duran in front of 10,000 people. Johnny I’Anson speaks to Dave and his trainer James Walker about that memorable night. (Photo: The fighters in action. Credit: Walter Dhladhla/AFP/Getty Images)

In 1980, Roland Butcher became the first black cricketer to represent England. It was in a one day match against Australia. Born in Barbados, his first tour was against his home region of the West Indies. He’s been speaking to Claire Bowes about his experience and getting caught up in plans for a controversial rebel tour to South Africa. (Photo: Roland Butcher. Credit: Allsport/Getty Images)

The badminton champion Rajeev Bagga grew up in India, winning deaf and hearing competitions in his home country and abroad. He has won 14 gold medals at the Deaflympics, which is the second oldest multi-sport and cultural festival in the world after the Olympics. In 2001, he was named ‘Deaflympian of the Century’. At the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics, he was given the ‘Champions Award’. Rajeev won the 1991 and 1992 national badminton championships in India. He’s been sharing his experiences with Laura Jones, through a BSL Interpreter. (Photo: Rajeev Bagga with some of his medals. Credit: BBC)

In the 1976 Formula One motor racing season, South African driver Jody Scheckter became the first and only person to ever win a race in a six-wheeled car. Competing against him in Sweden was American Mario Andretti. In this episode, both former world champions speak to James Pepper about history being made at the Anderstorp circuit. A Made in Manchester Production for the BBC World Service. (Image: Jody Scheckter in the Tyrrell-Ford P34. Credit: Hoch Zwei/Corbis via 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 first aired in 2016. (Photo: Andersen-Scheiss finishing the race in 1984. Credit: John W. McDonough/ Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

In April 2001, the small island nation of American Samoa took on Australia in the World Cup qualifiers. You could only play for the team if you held an American passport, which automatically ruled out the majority of the American Samoans, leaving them to resorting to picking schoolboys to play for them. What followed was the biggest defeat in international football – 31-0. Uma Doraiswamy speaks to goalkeeper Nicky Salapu about how he felt as the 31 goals the goals flew in past him. (Photo: Nicky Salapu in goal for American Samoa against Australia in 2001. Credit: Darren England/Allsport Getty Images)

It was supposed to be a friendly match between Egyptian giants Zamalek and Czechoslovakian side Dukla Prague, but before the game started there was a deadly crush in the crowds. The day before the game on 17 February 1974, the venue had been changed from the larger Cairo Stadium to Zamalek's home ground. It was reported that 48 people died and 47 were injured in a stampede. Josephine McDermott hears from retired Egyptian international player and Zamalek winger Mahmoud Al Khawaga who was there. Production and interpretation from Riham Eldeeb in Cairo. (Photo: Zamalek Stadium on the day of the disaster)

In 1996, South Africa won the Africa Cup of Nations, bringing sporting joy to a country still recovering from Apartheid. It was the Bafana Bafana team's first victory at an international football tournament. In 2015, two members of the multi-racial side, Phil Masinga and Mark Fish, spoke to Will Yates. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service. (Photo: South Africa captain Neil Tovey lifts the Africa Cup of Nations. Credit: Gallo Images/Getty Images)

In 1984, Lamine Gueye of Senegal became the first black African skier to take part in the Winter Olympics. The grandson of a prominent Senegalese politician, Gueye founded his country's ski federation and for a long time was the only member. In 2017, he spoke to Tayo Popoola. A Whistledown Production for BBC World Service. (Photo: Lamine at the 1996 World Championships. Credit: Jerome Prevost/TempSport/Corbis/VCG/Getty)

Lin Dan has dominated badminton for several decades. The Chinese star nicknamed 'Super Dan' clinched the sport's Super Grand Slam - winning 9 major titles by the age of 28 and the first player to achieve the feat. But it was his Olympic Games Gold medals which are particularly special to him. He speaks to Wendy Tang about how he got to be a world great. This is a Made Manchester Production for the BBC World Service. (Photo: Lin Dan competing in the Australian Badminton Open in 2017. Credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The Elfstedentocht is one of the toughest sporting events there is. It’s an ice skating race around the lakes and canals of the northern Dutch province of Friesland – and it can only take place when it is particularly cold. The last one was in 1997, but the most notorious happened back in January 1963, when only 69 of the 10,000 skaters made it to the end of the 200 km course. The rest were stopped by the appalling weather conditions. One of the few to complete the race was the then 24-year-old skater Leffert Oldenkamp. He tells Matthew Kenyon about the extreme race. (Photo: Competitors in the 1963 Elfstedentocht. Credit: Eric Koch/Dutch National Archive)

In 2000, Sven-Goran Eriksson got the job as manager of England’s men’s football team. He was the first non-English person to do the job. Some in England were sceptical about an overseas coach when Sven moved from his post at Lazio in Italy to succeed Kevin Keegan as England boss. Sven tells Uma Doraiswamy about the media’s reaction to this sporting first, his quest to understand the Liverpudlian accent of some of his new players and how it felt to go out of tournaments on penalties. The Swede led England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and 2004 Euros. He spoke to Sporting Witness a few days ago, on the day he told the world that having been diagnosed with cancer he has, at best, a year to live. (Photo: England coach Sven Goran Eriksson at the 2002 World Cup. Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima was leading the Men’s Marathon with six kilometres to go. What happened next shocked the millions of fans watching and propelled Vanderlei into becoming a universal role model for sportsmanship. He relives those last kilometres with Uma Doraiswamy. (Photo: Vanderlei de Lima being attacked by Cornelius Horan. Credit: Jiro Mochizuki/ AFP via Getty Images)

In 1970, Yuichiro Miura became the first man to ski on Mount Everest, starting from the height of the ‘death zone’, an elevation where there isn't enough oxygen to survive for long. His daring ski run saw him reach a speed of 160 kilometres per hour, before he crashed into a boulder and narrowly avoided falling into a crevasse. Not satisfied with this achievement, he also became the oldest person to climb the mountain when he was 80 years old. He spoke to Emily Uchida Finch about his experiences on Mount Everest. This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service. (Photo: Yuichiro Miura at the summit of Mount Everest in 2013. Credit: Miura Dolphins)

Caster Semenya was just 18-years-old when she won gold in the 800 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Her victory was controversial because the South African runner was facing questions over her gender. So much so, that she was made to take a gender test on the eve of the final. The test revealed that the teenager had been born with internal testes and no womb. It meant she had higher levels of testosterone; a hormone that increases muscle mass and strength. She has been speaking to Matt Pintus after the launch of her memoir, The Race to Be Myself. (Photo: Caster Semenya at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Credit: Getty Images)