John Akii-Bua came from nowhere to write a major chapter in athletics history by becoming Uganda's first ever Olympic gold medallist. His victory in the 400 metres hurdles with a world record time in Munich in 1972 saw Akii-Bua rise to prominence. But his destiny oscillated between glory and tragedy, his life coming to an end too early, aged 47 years. 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.

Greg Louganis: A leap of faith

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.