logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
8m 59s

The most successful Paralympian in histo...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Trischa Zorn-Hudson is the most decorated Paralympian in history.

Competing across seven games, Trischa - who has been blind since birth - won a remarkable haul of 55 medals.

In that time, she also saw the Paralympics go through drastic changes, as competitors campaigned to get similar privileges and rights as Olympic athletes.

Trischa shares memories of her career with Matt Pintus.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: Trischa Zorn-Hudson competing during the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Oct 4
The first Esports tournament
In October 1972, the first ever Esports tournament was held at California's Stanford University. Now a multi-billion dollar industry, thousands of people watch tournaments all around the world, but competitive video gaming was in its infancy in the early 70s.Called the 'Intergala ... Show More
10m 41s
Sep 27
Between two giants: Thrilla in Manila’s referee
On October 1 1975, the third and final fight between bitter rivals Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, known as the Thrilla in Manila, took place in the sweltering heat of the Philippines’ capital. The bout went down in history as one of the most brutal and dramatic in boxing. Carlos P ... Show More
10m 1s
Sep 20
Second time around
At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the final of the women’s high jump came down to two world record holders. One of them was already an Olympic gold medallist and one of West Germany’s most famous athletes. Ulrike Nasse-Meyfarth had been a celebrity since surprising the athleti ... Show More
9m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
The Modern Olympics
Every four years, the Modern Olympic Games is a celebration of athletic excellence. From modest roots in 19th Century Athens, to a worldwide phenomenon which will feature almost 15,000 athletes in Paris 2024, the Modern Olympics has developed into the largest sporting festival in ... Show More
1 h
Oct 2024
Ethiopia's 1984 famine
In 1984, Ethiopia suffered one of its worst ever famines. A BBC news report from the area shocked the world - and led to a huge global fundraising campaign.In 2014, Lucy Burns spoke to Dawit Giorgis, who was in charge of Ethiopia's internal relief effort during the crisis.Eye-wit ... Show More
10m 6s
Aug 2024
Hitler’s Olympics, Part 6: The Jiggle & the Giddy Up
The most famous athlete in Berlin was the American sprinter Jesse Owens, and one of the most famous stories from those Games was the unexpected, heartwarming encounter Owens had with the German long jumper Luz Long. The friendship between the two athletes would serve as a symbol ... Show More
38m 11s
Apr 2025
The death of Adolf Hitler
On 30 April 1945 Adolf Hitler killed himself in a bunker in the German capital Berlin as Soviet Red Army soldiers closed in. But first he married his lover Eva Braun, and dictated his will. In 1989, Traudl Junge, one of Hitler’s secretaries who was in the bunker when he died, sha ... Show More
9m 11s
Aug 28
Iwan Thomas - The Former European, Commonwealth and World Champion!
Former European and Commonwealth Champions and and previous British Record holder Iwan Thomas joins the Fozcast for a wide-ranging chat on life in athletics, the highs of winning medals to the realities of money in sport. Iwan reveals the truth about Olympic medals, what it’s rea ... Show More
1h 9m
Sep 3
The Chindits
During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan.Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer. This programme is mad ... Show More
10m 19s
Aug 2024
Hitler’s Olympics, Part 7: Long Jump, Tall Tale
Jesse Owens spent the rest of his life retelling the story of the 1936 games and his encounter with Luz Long. We trace the evolution of a tall tale, discovering the hidden life of one of America’s iconic sports heroes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
44m 15s
Dec 2024
Indian Ocean tsunami - Tamil Nadu
On 26 December 2004, an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia sparking a tsunami which swept away entire communities around the Indian Ocean. In India, Choodamani and Karibeeran Paramesvaran’s children Rakshanya, 12, Karuyna, nine, and Kirubasan, five, were killed. A beref ... Show More
9m 12s
Sep 21
Who are the Trailblazing Women Hidden From Our History? With Women's Prize Founder Kate Mosse
Did you know that Mary Shelley was a teenager when she started writing Frankenstein in 1814? Or that England’s most prolific goal scorer - man or woman - was superstar striker Lily Parr, who scored a staggering 997 goals between 1919 and 1951? When Kate Mosse launched the #WomenI ... Show More
53m 47s
Sep 22
Boris Becker: Surviving Prison, My Truth & Rebuilding Life (E371)
Boris Becker is one of tennis’s most iconic figures, a prodigy who won Wimbledon at just 17, a champion who reached the sport’s highest peaks, and a man who has faced extraordinary highs and devastating lows both on and off the court.In this episode, Boris reflects on the mindset ... Show More
2h 5m