Invariably seen as the best swimmer of the 20th century and Australia's greatest female athlete ever, Dawn Fraser was the first of only three swimmers in history to win individual gold medals for the same event – the 100-metre freestyle – at three successive Olympics. But behind the unique glory of an indisputable champion lies a personality marked by minor scandal and ineffaceable pain. The Essential Olympic Stories podcast is brought to you by Eurosport in association with Bridgestone. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

John Akii-Bua: A life of glory and tragedy

In our new podcast, we delve into the history books to tell some of the greatest stories of sporting endeavour, intrigue and excellence in The Essential Olympic Stories.From Michael Phelps to Dawn Fraser and Muhammad Ali to Nadia Comaneci as well as featuring some of the forgotten heroes of yester-year, a new episode of Essential Olympic Stories will be released weekly until Games-time.The Essential Olympic Stories is supported by Bridgestone. The writers are Laurent Vergne and Maxime Dupuis, and all episodes are translated by Felix Lowe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.