Sporting Witness

SPORTING WITNESS – IRONMAN’S IRON WOMAN (26th MARCH). In 1982, Julie Moss made headlines when she crawled to the finish line of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii after collapsing just metres from the end of her race. It was her first competitive triathlon and she came second, but as Julie explains to Rebecca Kesby, 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: Julie Moss at the finish line (Copyright, Carol Hogan Photojournalism)

During World War Two, the Hungarian swimmer, Eva Szekely, was saved from the Holocaust because of her father's quick thinking and her own talent for swimming. Eva Szekely would go on to break six world records and become an Olympic gold medallist at the 1952 Helsinki games. She died in February 2020. Louise Hidalgo tells her story using archive interviews with Eva Szekely held at the USC Shoah Foundation in the United States. Picture: Eva Szekely on her way to victory at the 1952 Olympics (Credit: Empics/PA)

In 1995, the Scottish driver Colin McRae became the youngest ever winner of the World Rally Championship after a dramatic victory in the last race of the season in North Wales. McRae’s no-holds-barred driving style later inspired a video game that brought rallying to a wider audience. He died in a helicopter crash in 2007. His brother, Alistair McRae, talks to Jonathan Holloway. (Photo: Colin McRae. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1998, a Kenyan farmer called Philip Boit became one of the first Africans to compete in the Winter Olympics. In the 10-kilometre cross-country skiing final he faced the legendary Norwegian, Bjorn Daehlie. It was a race that would unite the two athletes and inspire future Winter Olympians across Africa. This programme was first broadcast in 2014. PHOTO: Bjorn Daehlie and Philip Boit (Getty Images)

In February 1968, the Canadian skier Nancy Greene pulled off a flawless performance at the Winter Olympic Games, winning the Giant Slalom by a record-breaking margin of 2.6 seconds. Greene was nicknamed “Tiger” because of her attacking style, and the commanding victory made her one of the most popular Canadian sportswomen of all time. Nancy Greene talks to Freddy Chick. (Photo: Nancy Greene is cheered by her Canadian team-mates in 1968. Credit: Getty Images)