The Pool Room with Tony Armstrong

Long before Serena, Ash and Naomi, women’s tennis was dominated by one name. Known as “la Divine” - The Goddess - Suzanne Lenglen was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. Not only was she an unstoppable force on the court, but she was also a pioneer of fame, fashion and celebrity in women's sport. 

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There’s nothing wrong with a little sibling rivalry. But if you can’t back it up in the sporting arena yourself, maybe don’t provoke your brother or sister. When Maria Teresa de Filippis took an interest in motor racing, her brothers mocked her. They didn't think she stood a chance. Well, that was all the inspiration Maria needed to prove them wrong. 

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Justine Blainey was playing ice hockey as early as 7 years old. She loved it so much that she was determined to go pro, but her aggressive style of play often got her into trouble with the referee. So, she opted to join the boys team, where bodychecking was allowed. But that move was far easier said than done. 

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Most of us, if we’re lucky, will get the chance to grow old. It's a time for retirement and relaxation, for slowing down and watching the world go by. But that wasn't the case for Man Kaur. In 2009, aged 93, she spontaneously decided to take up running. And then, she took on the world.  

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Nineteen boxers competed in the 1960 Olympic Games. And after three rounds of wins, Australian Tony Madigan reached the semi-finals, looking for a place in the gold medal bout. His opponent? A promising but little-known amateur, boxing in his first ever Olympics: Cassius Clay. 

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It’s human nature to want to push the limits of our capabilities. But it’s easy to forget that some things, which seem ordinary now, weren’t so simple until we achieved them. Midway through the 20th century, running a mile in under 4 minutes seemed impossible. But one man dared to try: a medical student from London named Roger Bannister.

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Dakar Rally is one of the world’s toughest motor races. Since the late 70s, the globe’s best rally drivers have competed in the off-road endurance event. But prior to 2001, the race had only seen male champions. Then came Jutta Kleinschmidt, who was determined to shake things up a bit.  
 

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Australians practically wrote the book on how to do cricket right - from the backyard to summer afternoons at the 'G. But even in this sunburnt country, we still needed a Plan B for a rainy day. So we headed indoors to invent a whole new kind of game.

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Climbing Everest is an adventurer’s dream. But for Spanish mountaineer, Edurne Pasaban, it wasn't enough. She wanted to become the first woman to climb all “eight-thousanders”, the world’s highest peaks, above 8,000 metres. So, one down and thirteen more to go... 

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CrossFit is like regular gym, but faster and with more handstands. It requires all-round body strength and incredible willpower. It probably helps to have a good sense of humour too, because the sport certainly has its critics. It's no wonder then, that an Aussie has won more CrossFit world titles than anyone. 

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We all knew that one kid in PE class that was good at every sport they tried. Well, Peter Mullins was that kid. He was sport-obsessed and had a natural ability to pick up new skills like it was nothing. So much so, that Peter became a champion athlete in many of them, earning him the unofficial title of Australia's greatest all-rounder. 

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The 1980 Olympics in Moscow were defined by controversy, even before the Games had begun. More than 60 countries had staged a boycott. But it also had a direct impact on competition. The men’s triple jump was fiercely contested but the results were hotly disputed, and would change the rules of the event for good.

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Australia loves its athletes, especially our women's Olympic swimming team. As is now tradition, they're quickly labelled “ours”. Our Shane. Our Libby. Our Arriane. But where did it all begin? Meet Mina Wylie and Sarah “Fanny” Durack, the Australian women who dived into the history books more than 110 years ago.

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Shane Kelly is one of Australia's cycling greats. Throughout his incredible career, he won it all. Everything, that is, except for a gold medal at the Games. Considered the greatest cyclist in the world in 1996, one split second mistake in Atlanta set Shane up for a life lesson in failure, and how to overcome it. 

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Pistol shooting is a sport that takes a very particular set of skills. But for Karoly Takacs, a sergeant in the army, it came naturally. He was so good that he dominated national championships and had set his sights on his ultimate goal: to win a gold medal. That was until a tragic accident during an army training exercise threatened to destroy his sporting dream. 

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Australia has always been a sporting nation, but the green and gold wasn't always synonymous with winning. This is the story of how our greatest failure on the world stage gave rise to new a generation of athletes and put Australia on the path to Games glory.

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The United States absolutely dominated the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis, claiming over 200 medals. Their closest competitors, Germany, won just 15. But it turns out, some of those medals attributed to the USA weren't actually won by Americans. 

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The Games in Sydney was full of memorable moments for Australia, like Cathy Freeman's 400m Gold, and Ian Thorpe's dominance in the pool. But for one athlete, it's a Games they'd rather forget. Jane Saville was on the brink of a historic result for her country, competing in front of a home town crowd, when everything changed in an instant. 

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In a small town in the north of France, stands a statue - a monument honouring a fallen hero. A plaque carries the name of a soldier, but this isn't a regular war memorial. It recognises a once forgotten Australian champion athlete who embodied sportsmanship and made history. 

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