SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL(TM) CELEBRATES "THE GREATEST" WITH PRESENTATIONS OF TWO MUHAMMAD ALI PROGRAMS THIS WEEK

LIVES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: MUHAMMAD ALI and SPORTS DETECTIVES: ALI'S GOLD MEDAL To Air Throughout The Week

New York, June 8, 2016 - Smithsonian Channel will honor the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali this week with the airing of two programs about the man who transcended his sport to become one of the world's most beloved public figures. Encore presentations of LIVES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: MUHAMMAD ALI and SPORTS DETECTIVES: ALI'S GOLD MEDAL will air throughout this week.

LIVES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: MUHAMMAD ALI

Thursday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT; Friday, June 10 at 5:00 p.m. ET/PT, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT; Saturday, June 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET/PT; Sunday, June 12 at 5:00 p.m. ET/PT

No one had seen a heavyweight fighter with such speed and grace, nor heard one that spoke like a poet. And no one expected him to fly in the face of authority and risk everything for his beliefs. Hear these stories from the people closest to Ali - those who witnessed his life and who, in turn, were inspired to take bold actions on their own.

SPORTS DETECTIVES: ALI'S GOLD MEDAL

Friday, June 10 at 4:00 p.m. ET/PT, 6:00 p.m. ET/PT and 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

In his biography Muhammad Ali tells the story of what happened to his Olympic gold medal from the 1960 Rome Olympics: Disgusted by being refused service in a Louisville diner, he tossed the medal into the Ohio River, making it an enduring symbol of his struggle for Civil Rights. But is that story true, or simply part of the legend of Muhammad Ali?

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