When Wilma Rudolph was born premature and underweight, her family knew she would have a tough life ahead of her. Then, after contracting measles, pneumonia, Scarlett fever, and paralytic polio, doctors told her mother that she would likely never walk again. But she regained the ability to walk and only a few years later, Wilma was competing at the 1956 Olympics in three sprinting events. Four years after that, she had broken multiple world records and won gold in three different events.

So hit the starting blocks and prepare to sprint to the finish line for the penultimate episode of Wild World of Sport season one. Our Christmas special features discussions about debilitating diseases, Shaquille O’Neil’s birth weight, and our final ranking on our wild and mild board for 2025, in our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/wilma-rudolph#:~:text=Rudolph%20survived%20bouts%20of%20polio,mother%20told%20me%20I%20would.

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/remarkable-rudolph-defies-odds-with-sprint-treble

https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/wilma-rudolph

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polio/symptoms-causes/syc-20376512

https://www.achievementnetwork.org/hubfs/blog%20pdfs/Wilma+Rudolph+Text+and+Textual+Analysis.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/1961/02/04/archives/one-world-indoor-record-set-and-two-tied-in-millrose-track-at.html

https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/wilma-rudolph#:~:text=She%20also%20became%20a%20motivational,Athletic%20Association's%20Silver%20Anniversary%20Award.

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

Cynisca, princess of Sparta was born in the late 5th century BCE and lived into the 4th century BCE. Cynisca is famous for holding the prestigious title of being the first woman to win an Olympic event in history - during a period when women were not allowed to compete or even spectate the event, under punishment of death. She accomplished this by exploiting a loophole in the rules, and her victories paved the way for other women to be able to compete in the Olympics for the first time in hundreds of years.

So sit back and enjoy a dive down the ancient Olympics rabbit hole featuring a debate on partridges in pear trees, a dodgy microphone, and three men interrupting a women - who happens to be the only qualified person on a show trying to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/five-historic-firsts-for-female-olympians

https://www.olympics.com/en/news/12-july-1912-fanny-durack-becomes-the-first-female-olympic-swimming-champion

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43610326

https://www.thoughtco.com/women-at-the-olympic-games-120123

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games/spectators

Women in Ancient Greece - World History Encyclopedia

Spartan Women - World History Encyclopedia

Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part III: Spartan Women – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

The Lion of Sparta: Agesilaus II and the Impossible Empire | by Leslie | Time Chronicles | Medium Scanlon, Thomas F. (6 April 2004). "Games for Girls". Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, Elis 1, chapter 6

Pherenike of Rhodes: The Ancient Greek Mom Who Risked All to Guarantee Her Son's Olympic Glory - The Pappas Post

Pherenike the Female Olympic Trainer - World History Encyclopedia

https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-kyniska-the-first-female-olympian-123909

https://www.thoughtco.com/women-at-the-olympic-games-120123

Pausanias, the first travel writer: a historical perspective | Journal of Travel Medicine | Oxford Academic

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2021/07/26/alluring-anecdotes-about-the-olympic-games/

Chariot racing - Ancient Olympic Games IvO 160 - PHI Greek Inscriptions ToposText P17103coll10_1784.pdf

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/downloads/j6731770d?locale=en

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Zoe Behrendt

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

Umamusume Pretty Derby is a horse girl racing franchise created by Japanese company Cyber Agent. The franchise includes an anime, manga, and mobile/PC game, as well as limitless merchandise opportunities. The franchise follows the lives of the horse girls (umas) and incorporates the real life events of the horses they are based off - including race wins, injuries, and unfortunately deaths. The franchises popularity has caused a boom in Japans racing scene, the creation of a welfare scheme for retired race horses, and is influencing the way races are run all over the world. The horse girls are also pop stars but that doesn’t come up much.

So saddle up, grab the reigns, and prepare to be taken on a magical journey into the crazy world of Pretty Derby racing. Our longest episode yet features a string of mispronounced places, the oddity of race horse naming conventions, and the ranking of this story on our quest to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://www.historyskills.com/classroom/modern-history/sakoku/?srsltid=AfmBOophc690UYOfSxPt2wSXLkanxsoIyMm-O2NWxE7BGQotPdVnwL5F

https://japanracing.jp/_pdf/jpn-racing/jra/king/03.pdf

https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0001104811/sire/generation

https://japanracing.jp/_statistics-local/2024/local01.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-26/rehoming-racehorses-expensive-fantasy-retirement-for-a-lucky-few/11640644

https://idolhorse.com/horse-racing-news/umamusume/umamusume-can-reap-the-rewards-of-susumu-fujitas-savvy-timing

https://umamusume.fandom.com/wiki/Umamusume_Wiki

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

The Boston Marathon is one of oldest and most prestigious races in the world. But from its inception in 1897 to 1972, women were not permitted to race due to barbaric and downright ludicrous medical theories on what a woman’s body could handle.

However, those rules did not stop a few brave women who dared to race anyway, breaking the mould and showing race organisers and the world that women can run.

These women’s names are Roberta ‘Bobbi’ Gibbs, who unofficially raced in 1966, Katherine Switzer, who officially raced in 1967, and Nina Kuscsik, who was the inaugural winner of the 1972 Women’s category.

Lace up your shoes, meet us at the start line, and if you’re wearing an Uncle Sam outfit make sure you steer clear of Jock as we unpack the stories of these pioneers and their impact on Marathon running.

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150508010414/http://www.distancerunning.com/inductees/1999/kuscsik.html

https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a61808909/best-womens-marathon-moments/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/sports/nina-kuscsik-dead.html

https://kathrineswitzer.com/2017/04/marathon-struggle-of-runner-who-changed-athletics/ (picture of Kathrine)

https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/66615089

https://www.aausports.org/

https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/history/

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/18/sports/will-cloney-91-dies-put-boston-marathon-on-the-map.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1090581/olympics-number-athletes-by-gender-since-1896/?srsltid=AfmBOorm4_gM4P74wCS1SrnR-dpDQg6SyynIPAo7y2DCQc6InIu5rJZD

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Music and cover art:

Zoe Behrendt

In 1991, the bar for what athletes can and can’t get away with was forever changed when a 19-year-old Manny Ramirez was drafted 13th overall by the then Cleveland Indians. Ramirez went on to have one of the greatest MLB hitting careers, with 555 home runs, a career Batting Average of .312 and an On-Base Percentage plus Slugging of .996.

But the real story with Manny is the infamous stories of ‘Manny being Manny’ which include: stealing the team bus; fighting club officials; forcing his PED supplier to read him bedtime stories; peeing inside the Green Monster (which does not have a toilet); and many, many more.

So step up to the plate to hear all the wild, crazy, and strange stories of Manny Ramirez, and find out where this enigma of a human ranks on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

https://beckertime.com/blog/the-rolex-watches-of-the-boston-red-sox/

https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/10/22/manny-ramirezs-car-rolls/

https://www.mlb.com/player/manny-ramirez-120903#:~:text=Manuel%20Aristedes%20Ramirez%20was%20originally,proceeds%20were%20split%20between%20ThinkCure!%2C

https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-opening-day-rosters-feature-265-internationally-born-players

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUc2fnsCvhQ

https://www.twinkietown.com/2024/7/25/24202151/mlb-new-york-yankees-boston-red-sox-jason-varitek-alex-rodriguez-curse-of-the-bambino-2004-fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsuYIN7y8Ew

https://www.jeffspevak.com/look-out-kid/

https://www.mlb.com/news/manny-ramirez-posted-astonishing-numbers-c264796776

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Cover art and music:

Zoe Behrendt

During the Australian summer of 2013, the cricketing world was treated to perhaps the greatest bowling performance in Test Match history. Mitchell Johnson terrorised England with bat and ball for the entire five match series, scaring batters, forcing retirements, and threatening to break arms - and it was all because of a moustache.

This week we pad up and prepare to face the chin music that was Mitchell Johnsons 2013/14 Ashes. Join us as we relive that glorious summer of cricket, chat about our favourite Ashes moments, and hear Carlin desperately try and relate this to Football as we attempt to rank this story on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.

Sources:

ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKtvZhmAn0I

https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/best-career-bowling-average-283256

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/6033.html?class=1;template=results;type=allround;view=match

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/3262001

https://www.cricket.com.au/players/CA:1663/mitchell-johnson?tab=biography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNokixQnb04

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/34842494

Presenters:

James Whybrow

Ben Whybrow

Carlin Sheaves

Cover art and music:

Zoe Behrendt