The birth of skiing
How the British invented downhill skiing at the start of the 20th Century.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, the British invented downhill skiing and introduced it to the Alps, creating both a new sport and the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry we know today. Using the BBC archives, Simon Watts introduces the memories of Sir Arnold Lunn, the inventor of modern skiing, and of British and Swiss racers from the early days of the sport.
(Photo: A skiing party in the 1920s, with Sir Arnold Lunn centre-right. Credit: Getty Images)
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- Thu 21 Feb 201909:50GMTBBC World Service
- Fri 22 Feb 201900:50GMTBBC World Service
- Sat 23 Feb 201914:50GMTBBC World Service News Internet
- Sun 24 Feb 201915:50GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa, East Asia & South Asia
- Mon 25 Feb 201904:50GMTBBC World Service Australasia, Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & East Asia only
Olympic history
The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history
Sporting Witness Films
Watch sporting heroes tell their stories of astonishing achievement
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Sporting Witness
Personal stories of amazing moments from sporting history told by people who were there
