Home  >  Sporting Witness  >  Emil Zatopek at the Helsinki Olympics
Sporting Witness
Emil Zatopek at the Helsinki Olympics
Sporting Witness
Feb 28, 2026

In 1952, the Summer Olympics took place at the height of the Cold War in Helsinki, Finland.

Czechoslovak army officer Emil Zatopek achieved a unique feat in athletics by winning gold in the 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon.

Zatopek's biographer, Richard Askwith, speaks to Simon Watts about the athlete's incredible achievement.

This programme was first broadcast in 2016.

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: Emil Zatopek. Credit: Bettmann)

More Episodes
May 9, 2026
Nigeria’s 12-year wait for gold

At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 the Nigerian 4x400m relay team surpassed expectations by winning silver in dramatic fashion.

But, in the years that followed revelations about doping in the winning USA team began to emerge.

Twelve years after the original race, Nigeria were officially declared the Olympic champions.

Enefiok Udo-Obong ran the final leg of the relay in 2000 for Nigeria, he has been speaking to Tim O’Callaghan.

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: The Nigerian team after the relay in 2000. Credit: Reuters)


11min 01sec

May 2, 2026
The Juventus match-fixing scandal

In 2006, Italy's most successful team, Juventus, were relegated from the Italian top division due to their involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

The decision to demote Juventus came just days after Italy had won the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Journalist Paddy Agnew covered the case extensively from his base in Rome. In 2023 he shared his memories of that time 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: Juventus’ general manager Luciano Moggi leaving Italian Carabinieri police headquarters. Credit: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi)


10min 22sec

Apr 25, 2026
Making Escape To Victory

The 1981 film Escape To Victory is a World War Two tale of a football match in a prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow. The climax of the movie is the match between the POWs and the Germans.

In the prisoners' team against the Nazis, Caine and Stallone play alongside actual footballers including Bobby Moore, the legendary Pele and former England and Ipswich Town player Russell Osman.

He tells Maggie Ayre what it was like filming with both Hollywood and footballing greats.

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: The cast of Escape to Victory. Credit: MGM/Alamy)


10min 01sec

Apr 18, 2026
The Fabiola Rule

In the 1990s, rollerblading had separate competitions for men and women. That changed in 2000, when the two were combined into one mixed competition.

Brazilian Fabiola Da Silva was so good against the men that the change became known as the "Fabiola Rule". For more than a decade, she consistently finished in the top 10 against the men, defying expectations, and winning silver at the 2002 Latin X Games.

Fabiola Da Silva tells Guy Kilty how it all happened.

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: Fabiola Da Silva at X Games Xperience. Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)


10min 27sec

Emil Zatopek at the Helsinki Olympics

--:--
--:--