Sporting Witness

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. Photo: The teams head out onto the field in Beijing for West Brom's first game of the tour. (BBC)

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)

In 1997, the reigning 100m Olympic champion, Canada’s Donovan Bailey, and the reigning 200m champion, Michael Johnson of the USA, staged a unique two-man race to settle a dispute about who was really the world’s fastest man. Held over 150 metres at the Skydome arena in Toronto, the atmosphere was more like a boxing match and created massive media interest. Simon Watts talks to the eventual winner, Donovan Bailey, about a victory he considers every bit as sweet as Olympic gold.PHOTO: Donovan Bailey, left, and Michael Johnson at promotional event (Getty Images)

In November 1994, George Foreman shocked the sport of boxing by winning a second world title at the age of 45. Written off by the critics, Foreman held off a rain of punches from Michael Moorer, a man 19 years his junior, before landing a knockout punch in the tenth round. George Foreman talks to Ashley Byrne about his varied career.PHOTO: George Foreman, left, in action against Michael Moorer (Getty Images).

In November 1995, Finnish driver Mika Hakkinen suffered one of the most dramatic crashes in Formula One history when his rear tyre exploded during the Australian Grand Prix catapulting his car into the air and leaving him severely injured. Hakkinen was saved by the roadside medical team who performed an emergency tracheotomy. He went on to win two F1 world championships. Mika Hakkinen talks to Kurt Brookes. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production. PHOTO: Mika Hakkinen (BBC)

In 1981, the first game of the shooting sport, Paintball, was played by American outdoorsman, Charles Gaines, and eleven of his friends in the woods in the American state of New Hampshire. Paintball is now enjoyed by millions of people around the world and has also spawned a multi-million-dollar industry making protective body gear, goggles and paint-guns. Charles Gaines talks to Anya Dorodeyko about how Paintball started.PHOTO: A Paintball player in action (Getty Images)

At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, the great Czechoslovak gymnast Vera Caslavska staged a protest that made almost as many headlines at the time as the now much better-known "Black Power Salute". To make a stand against Moscow's crushing of the Prague Spring, Caslavska turned her head away on the podium as the Soviet anthem was played. The gymnast paid a heavy price - spending the rest of her life in menial jobs and suffering from depression. Tom Reynolds talks to Caslavska's friend, British competitor Mary Prestidge.PHOTO: Vera Caslavska with her Olympic medals (Getty Images)

In October 1968, two American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, staged one of the most iconic protests in sport at the Mexico City Olympics. The two athletes raised their gloved fists in the air at the medal ceremony for the 200 metres as a way of protesting against racism. Simon Watts reports. The programme was first broadcast in 2016.PHOTO: Tommie Smith, centre, and John Carlos, right, on the Olympic podium (AFP)

In 1978, the first international sporting event was held for athletes who'd undergone organ transplants. The brainchild of a British surgeon called Dr Maurice Slapak, the Transplant Games aimed to convince the public that patients could go on to live active lives. Caroline Heywood talks to Dr Slapak and to John Murray, who took part in the Games after a successful kidney transplant. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production.PHOTO: John Murray taking part in the Transplant Games (personal collection)

In 1924, the British sprinter, Harold Abrahams, won the 100 metres at the Paris Olympics - a famous victory depicted in the film, Chariots of Fire. Simon Watts tells his story using interviews in the BBC archives.(Photo: Harold Abrahams winning the 1924 Olympics. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1974, India had its best chance of winning the Davis Cup, the most prestigious team event in international tennis. But Prime Minister Indira Gandhi withdrew the team on principle because the final was due to be played against apartheid South Africa. Farhana Haider talks to the legendary Indian player, Vijay Amritraj, who was in the team with his brother, Anand.(Photo: Vijay Amritraj. Credit: ITN/Shutterstock)

In September 1988, 11-year-old South London schoolboy Tom Gregory set a world record that still stands for being the youngest swimmer to cross the English Channel. He has just published a memoir entitled "A Boy In The Water". Tom Gregory talks to Simon Watts.(Photo: Tom Gregory. Credit: Penguin Books)

In September 1997, the Australian tennis player Pat Rafter was the surprise winner of the US Open. Dismissed as a “fluke” victory by John McEnroe, Rafter returned to Flushing Meadows the following year to retain the title and also became world number one. One of the most modest men in sport, Pat Rafter talks to Ashley Byrne. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production. PHOTO: Pat Rafter in action (Getty Images)

In 1956, the Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina wowed the world when she won four gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics. She went on to dominate the sport for the next decade, becoming a Soviet hero in the process, and she is the second most successful Olympian of all time – beaten only by Michael Phelps. Larisa tells Ashley Byrne about the rigorous training methods in the Soviet Union and how she had to keep a pregnancy secret from her coach. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production.PHOTO: Larisa Latynina (Getty Images)

In August 1988, Canada was plunged into a mixture of shock and grief when the legendary ice-hockey player Wayne Gretzky was sold to a team in America. The controversial deal between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings became known simply as “The Trade”. In 2011, Madeleine Morris spoke to Bruce McNall, the owner of the LA Kings at the time.PHOTO: Wayne Gretzky (Getty Images)