Other

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Sporting Witness

Podcasts

Factual: History

Sport

The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service

Sporting Witness: Women's Marathon Agony

Documentaries

Women's Marathon Agony

09/07/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Sporting Witness, Women's Marathon Agony

In 1984, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss completed the Olympic marathon in terrible pain

In 1984, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss shocked the world by completing the first Olympic women's marathon in a state of virtual collapse.

In 1984, the women's marathon was held in the Olympic Games for the first time. 

But to the horror of the crowd in Los Angeles, one of the runners, Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss of Switzerland, entered the stadium in a state of virtual collapse from heat exhaustion. 

The 40-year-old ski instructor was not used to the hot Californian climate. She had to hobble her way around the final lap of the race.  

The crowd of ninety thousand people in the LA Memorial Colosseum cheered her on as she made it to the finish line.  

Andersen-Scheiss tells Ashley Byrne about her ordeal. The programme is a Made-In-Manchester Production that was first broadcasted in 2016. 

(Photo: Andersen-Scheiss finishing the race in 1984. Credit: Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Sporting Witness

Women's Marathon Agony

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service