Sporting Witness

In 1977, Michael Jay from England becomes the first foreigner to take part in the Soma Nomaoi which celebrates classical martial arts and military horsemanship.

The Soma wild horse chase in Japan is an annual three day event and dates back to the 10th Century.

Michael participated for 17 years, earning the rank of group commander.

He speaks to Jen Dale about the honour and challenges of taking part.
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.
(Picture: Michael Jay in front of Odaka shrine. Credit: Michael Jay)

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 Zapotek. Credit: Bettmann)

In 1995, Canadian BMXer Jay Miron took part in the first ever Extreme Games.
A celebration of action sports like skateboarding and BMXing, the event - now rebranded the X Games - has been held every year since and become a global phenomenon.
Jay Miron, known in the sport as 'The Canadian Beast', tells Guy Kilty how one US TV network's decision to televise the first ever Extreme Games changed his life and his sport overnight.
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: Jay at the X Games in 2001. Credit: Elsa/Getty Images)

In the 1970s and 80s the sport of darts was booming in the UK. It was on TV almost every week and the sport’s stars were household names.
But by 1989 the sport was in decline, and the world championship was the only event that was still televised.
The sport’s top players blamed the British Darts Organisation for failing to keep the game on TV and broke away to form their own competitions in 1993.
This rival tour became the Players Darts Council in 1997, which is now responsible for the sport’s biggest tournaments.
John Lowe MBE is a three-time world darts champion and was one of the rebel players. He’s 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: John Lowe at the 1993 Darts World Championship. Credit: Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images)

In 2003, skiing history was made when Croatian siblings Janica and Ivica Kostelić became the first sister-brother duo to win World Cup Alpine slalom races on the same day.
Despite coming from a country with limited skiing facilities, the Kostelić siblings managed to make it to the pinnacle of the sport.
They would both go on to win again at the World Championships a month later - although this time a day apart.
They have been speaking to Marta Medvešek about what it felt like to chase — and achieve —their dreams together.
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: Credit: Janica and Ivica Kostelić at the Alpine Ski World Cup in 2003. Reuters/Denis Balibouse DB/CR/GB)