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BBC World Service

NEW SEASON: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team. Basketball, the Cold War, and rock band The Grateful Dead collide in this incredible true story. Presented by the late NBA star Bill Walton. Starts19 May.

Unbelievable stories from the world of sport. Amazing Sport Stories brings you the greatest twists and personal journeys from sport history. Listen for inspiring tales of courage, drama, myths and legends from all over the globe.

From minor-league underdogs to Olympic champions. These are sporting heroes you’ll wish you’d known about and now probably won’t forget.

Previous seasons include The Legend of Takhti, about the Iran wrestling hero who died under mysterious circumstances. Or The Black 14, about the group of Black American football players who took a stand against racism in the game. And Chasing Mountains, the story of five female mountaineers battling to make climbing history.

All told in mini seasons and one-off documentary episodes. #AmazingSportStories

Amazing Sport Stories, including Chasing Mountains

Basketball, the Cold War, and rock band The Grateful Dead collide in this incredible true story. Presented by the late NBA star Bill Walton. Coming soon on 19 May.

What do basketball, rock music, and tie-dye t-shirts have in common? And what about Mickey Hart, Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, and the US Dream Team? Well, they are all subject of the brand new season of Amazing Sport Stories: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team.

It’s Moscow, 1989, and Lithuanian basketball star Sarunas Marciulionis is walking nervously through the airport. If all goes to plan, a new life awaits playing basketball for the NBA in the US. But first, he must cross the Iron Curtain. Sarunas doesn’t yet know the incredible journey he is about to go on. One which will involve political upheaval, the Olympic games, the US rock band The Grateful Dead - and, of course, tie-dye. 

The late NBA star and sports commentator Bill Walton presents this extraordinary true story. Bill passed away in 2024, not long after recording the series, and his family have given permission for its release following his death. 

Amazing Sport Stories brings you the greatest twists and personal journeys from sport history. Listen for inspiring tales of courage, drama, myths and legends from all over the globe. All told in mini seasons and one-off documentary episodes. #AmazingSportStories

Trailer: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team

Bill Walton tells the story of Sarunas Marciulionis’ journey from the USSR to the NBA. Along the way, there’s also a Grateful Dead concert…

It’s Moscow, 1989, and Lithuanian basketball star Sarunas Marciulionis is walking nervously through the airport. If all goes to plan, a new life awaits playing basketball for the NBA in the US. But first, he must cross the Iron Curtain.

Sarunas doesn’t yet know the incredible journey he is about to go on. One which will involve political upheaval, the Olympic games, the US rock band The Grateful Dead - and, of course, tie-dye. 

The late NBA star and sports commentator Bill Walton presents this extraordinary true story. Bill passed away in 2024, not long after recording the series, and his family have given permission for its release following his death. 

Amazing Sport Stories brings you the greatest twists and personal journeys from sport history. Listen for inspiring tales of courage, drama, myths and legends from all over the globe. All told in mini seasons and one-off documentary episodes. #AmazingSportStories

Amazing Sport Stories: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.

Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team: Ep 1

The Lithuanian men’s basketball team are making a splash at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. But they’re about to face two of their biggest challenges…

The Unified Team is made up of athletes representing the former Soviet republics. For newly independent Lithuania, could this be a moment to prove themselves on the world stage?

And as if that isn’t enough, the US Dream Team is made up of some of the best players in the world, including Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. Will Lithuania stand a chance?

The late NBA star and sports commentator Bill Walton presents this extraordinary true story which brings together basketball, the US rock band The Grateful Dead, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Bill passed away in 2024, not long after recording the series, and his family have given permission for its release following his death. 

This episode was updated on 16 July 2025.

Amazing Sport Stories brings you the greatest twists and personal journeys from sport history. Listen for inspiring tales of courage, drama, myths and legends from all over the globe. All told in mini seasons and one-off documentary episodes. #AmazingSportStories 

Amazing Sport Stories: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.

Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team: Ep 2

The final showdown. The only thing which stands between Lithuania and an Olympic medal? The Unified Team – the team representing former Soviet countries and, for Lithuanians, their former occupiers. 

Will the Lithuanian basketball team be able to beat the Unified Team with the world watching? And can they triumph in tie-dye?

The late NBA star and sports commentator Bill Walton presents this extraordinary true story which brings together basketball, the US rock band The Grateful Dead, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Bill passed away in 2024, not long after recording the series, and his family have given permission for its release following his death. 

Amazing Sport Stories brings you the greatest twists and personal journeys from sport history. Listen for inspiring tales of courage, drama, myths and legends from all over the globe. All told in mini seasons and one-off documentary episodes. #AmazingSportStories

Amazing Sport Stories: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service.

Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team: Ep 3

The backlash becomes serious, but Justine Blainey refuses to give up. Will her long journey for equality on the ice rink be finally over? She’s stayed strong through the backlash from haters and a succession of court cases. She is now breathtakingly close to her dream of playing for a boys’ ice hockey team. Hosted by double Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall. Episode three of three. 

Let us know what you think #AmazingSportStories

Frozen Out: Ep 3: مع باسم يوسف

Sport but not as you know it. Imagine being stranded in the “death zone” on one of the world’s highest mountains. How about running 200 miles in a dark tunnel? We’ve been searching the world for the most amazing sport stories. Other podcasts bring you the scores and team news. This one tells the stories you’ll wish you’d known about and now probably won’t forget. You don’t need to be obsessed with sport to find yourself immersed in our mini-seasons and short stories. 

Amazing Sport Stories kicks off on 30 October 2023.

Introducing Amazing Sport Stories

“Yes you’re good enough, we wish we could take you. But you’re a girl.” Schoolgirl Justine’s fight for the right to play in a boys’ ice hockey team. She is a talented player who wants to get to the top of her game. And her fight to change the rules takes her all the way to Canada’s highest court of justice. Presented by double Olympic ice hockey gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall. Season 1 of Amazing Sport Stories: Frozen Out launches on 30 October 2023.

Trailer: Frozen Out

“You're good enough but you’re a girl”. Twelve year old Justine just wants to play ice hockey – with the boys. When she’s told she can’t, she writes a letter which will change everything. Double Olympic gold medallist and former Canadian team captain Cassie Campbell-Pascall tells the story of Justine Blainey. Episode 1 of 3.

Let us know what you think of #AmazingSportStories

Frozen Out: Ep 1

Justine takes her fight to court. If she’s the best, why does her gender matter? The legal team argue it is her constitutional right. Despite supportive family and teammates, Justine is only 12 and the pressure is getting to her. The judge is about to make the ruling. Can Justine win her case? Hosted by double Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall. Episode two of three. 

Let us know what you think #AmazingSportStories

Frozen Out: Ep 2

At 200 miles, it might not be the world's longest race, but Tunnel Ultra is certainly the darkest. It's a gruelling two-day endurance event where competitors run underground laps in single-file, to a backdrop of classical music. Headphones are banned but hallucinations are all but guaranteed, with sightings of abominable snowmen, giant slugs and orange blobby monsters all reported. So why do people do it? This is the story of those who do, including one who suffered temporary blindness... then thanked the race organiser for the privilege.
 
The Never-Ending Tunnel has been adapted from an article by Justin Goulding on the Insight pages of the BBC Sport website. Audio scenes have been re-created for your enjoyment.
 
Let us know what you think #AmazingSportStories

The never-ending tunnel

Iraqi weightlifter Raed Ahmed was proud to carry his country's flag at the opening ceremony for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But the honour came with a strict instruction: he was not to look at the American President, Bill Clinton. Iraq's Olympic Committee was led by Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, a man with a reputation for brutality.

But Raed had already begun to think of escape. And that night, with a single glance, he made up his mind. This is the story of how he took the most dangerous decision of his life, and what happened next.

Audio scenes have been re-created. Let us know what you think #AmazingSportStories

The Olympic defectors

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