The Pool Room with Tony Armstrong

It's the last Grand Prix of the 1959 Formula 1 season and Jack Brabham is on the verge of his first Driver's Championship. He only needs to finish ahead of his two closest rivals to secure an F1 crown. But on the final lap, every driver’s worst nightmare becomes Jack Brabham’s reality.

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To put it bluntly, English football in the 1970s was a boys club - to the extent that stadiums didn't even have women's toilets. Even the media rooms were full of male journalists. That was until one woman looked to challenge the status quo. A photographer named Hy Money had a passion for taking pictures, and nobody was going to stand in her way.

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Patrick Mills is one of our country's greatest athletes. He's a star on the basketball court and an NBA Champion. But the secret to his success stems from his childhood, and a very special junior b-ball club that shaped Patty into the player he is today.

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The winter of 1954 saw one of the most gruelling motor racing events in history: an 18-day, long-distance rally around Australia. And the man tipped as favourite, turned up to the start of the race wearing a gorilla mask and driving a car full of explosives. This is the story of “Gelignite Jack”.

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Les Darcy was a boxing champion and a national hero…until he wasn't. At the height of the First World War, he secretly boarded a ship to avoid impending military conscription. His destination? The glitz and glamour of New York's professional boxing scene. But by the time he arrived, the world had turned its back on this rising star. 

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Dennis Bergkamp was one of the greatest footballers of his generation. By his early 20s, he was a star in the making. But in 1995, Bergkamp's contract negotiations with Arsenal hit a snag when the club learned about his greatest fear - a serious phobia that threatened to disrupt Dennis' football career.

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Being called "the Lionel Messi of…" anything is a badge of honour. To be that good at your chosen sport is an incredible achievement. But Gary Hunt is the best in the world at a sport so extreme, that one wrong move could cause serious spinal injuries…or even death. 

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Curling is a sport that's usually associated with cold places, like Scotland, Canada or New Zealand. So, just how did Australia, the driest inhabited continent on Earth, manage to produce an Olympic-qualifying curling team?  

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A 16-year-old Wilma Rudolph was the youngest athlete in the United States Olympic team at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. Representing her country on the world stage was a proud moment for the high school student. Even the bronze medal she took home was a huge achievement, considering Wilma was once told as a child that she would never walk again.

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The 1991 Canadian Grand Prix was a race full of surprises. Despite winning the first four races of the season, Ayrton Senna had qualified in third. That made way for Williams duo Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell. By the last lap, Mansell had taken pole position...but a spur-of-the-moment decision would put his entire race in jeopardy.

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In 1967, salesman Des Renford is enjoying a few drinks with his mates down the pub, when one of them proposes a mighty dare: to swim across Port Phillip Bay...the very next morning. What happened next, unexpectedly propelled Des into a new athletic career. 

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The name Michael Buffer might not mean much to you, but you definitely know his voice. He’s probably the world’s most recognisable ring announcer, in boxing and professional wrestling. But the story of how he went from fight night favourite to American cultural phenomenon, is all thanks to a family secret that remained hidden for decades. 

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The annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is one of the longest of its kind in the world. Sailors from around the globe make the trip to Sydney each year to compete in this iconic event. But when it was first established in 1945, it wasn't supposed to be a race at all. 

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If you don’t associate squash with sporting legends, you just haven’t met Heather McKay. Heather came from a sports mad family and squash wasn't her first choice - she took up the sport to maintain her fitness while playing hockey. But Heather quickly learned that she was pretty good at squash, and after entering her first competition, she never looked back.

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Bill Roycroft might just be Australia's greatest Olympian you've never heard of. He competed in five consecutive Summer Games, winning several medals. But his debut at Rome 1960 was the scene of a remarkable feat, when not even severe injury could keep Bill down.

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The name Karl Power is not synonymous with great sporting heroes, and yet, it has graced Wimbledon's Centre Court, the Formula 1 podium at Silverstone, and the hallowed turf of Headingly Cricket Ground. That's because Karl Power is better known as Britain's greatest impostor.

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They say you should never meet your heroes, but what if you beat your heroes? That's the conundrum Mark Taylor faced in 1998, when he became just the fourth Australian to score a triple-century in Test cricket. But dare he surpass the Aussie record of 334 not out, held by Sir Donald Bradman since 1930?

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