The Real Science of Sport Podcast

More than most other species, humans are perfectly adapted to endurance running. We may not be the fastest or strongest, but our ability to endure meant our early ancestors could survive and thrive, and modern-day humans can rightfully claim we are all meant to run. Prof. Ross Tucker and sports journalist Mike Finch, who has been the editor of Runner's World SA for 26 years, discuss the amazing adaptations that humans have developed for running, why running may be the most natural sport for you to do, how to train from couch to 5km safely and effectively, the role of shoe tech and why the world seems to be on a running high right now.Show notesThe original Lieberman paper, Running and the Evolution of HomoThat paper was challenged, not for what, but why. Here's one exampleThe BBC video of a bushman hunting down a kuduIn time, evidence emerged to support Lieberman's argument, showing persistence hunting in over 200 geographical locationsHow many injuries? A systematic review and meta-analysis on injury rates in runnersA systematic review on risk factors for injury during running One of the more robust research studies looking at pronation and injury riskSubsequent analysis of that paper offered more support for motion control shoes in specific populationsThe plot thickens: Another well-conducted study finds that pronation does not increase injury risk in novice runnersBecome a Supporter of The Science of Sport. A small monthly donation gets you ad-free listening, Member Exclusive shows, and access to our world-class listener discussion forum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our members are picking this apart on Discourse right now, and not always kindly! Join them for the price of a coffee a month, with ad-free listening and regular bonus exclusive showsShow notesOur recap of the final night of the Ultimate Championship in Budapest:(00:01:53) Jasmine Jones upsets the women's 400m hurdles field in 52.45, while the two who dominated the season may have slightly mistimed their peaks(00:05:57) Alison dos Santos wins the 400m hurdles in 45.98, the third fastest ever run, and we look at what Rai Benjamin's year on the flat may buy him next year.(00:13:10) A solo win for Likina Amebaw in the women's 5000m. She breaks away with a surge faster than world record pace after 2000m, but the broadcast fails to tell the story of her dominant performance(00:25:43) Daniel Sedjati pounces to win a somewhat surprising 800m in 1:41.91. We talk about Marco Arop, who did what was best for him, but also the other main contenders, while Wanyonyi found the 2026 season a week too long(00:32:13) The USA win the mixed 4x400m. We pick apart some of the fastest and slowest segments(00:36:17) Josh Kerr wins the 1500m in 3:29.35 without leaving fourth gear (after being seeded 13th in a 12 man field)!(00:40:41) Kenny Bednarek's 19.52s is the fifth fastest 200m in history, as he delivers what his 100m said he could(00:43:45) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden runs 21.47s to win the women's 200m. It's the third fastest women's 200m ever, and we ask which old sprint record goes first?(00:53:06) Josh Kerr would rather wear his sponsor's kit than his country's. We disagree, and discuss where the Ultimate Championships belong on the global calendar(00:59:26) Our verdict on the first Ultimate Championship, and when it should be held Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for the last night! Our members watch live together on Discord and pull it apart on Discourse afterwards, all for the price of a coffee a monthShow notesOur day two recap, and a preview of the final night of the Ultimate Championships:(00:01:02) Night two was a clear step up on day one, with six finals and qualifying races that actually mattered and produced intrigue.(00:01:34) Marileidy Paulinho wins the 400m in 49.07 to end an unbeaten season, and we wonder why Lieke Klaver keeps going out so hard.(00:06:53) Collen Kebinatshipi wins the men's 400m in 43.39s, with a new race plan, which he explains himself. A record number of sub-44s in a season, and a 42 second man in the making.(00:15:50) Klaudia Kazimierska outkicks Georgia Hunter Bell in a tactical 1500m, to establish herself as versatile in addition to the world leader.(00:16:15) World Athletics' AI predictions become a running joke, and we offer to fix them (again!).(00:27:42) Audrey Werro leads the 800m from the gun and wins as we predicted, albeit more slowly. Hodgkinson and Bol round out the concrete-ists. We discuss Werro's dominant race, the progressive wind-up, and Hodkingson's stuttering season.(00:34:31) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden's start beats Julien Alfred in the 100m, and Kenny Bednarek surprises Oblique Seville in the men's race.(00:38:37) We preview the final night, with both 400m hurdles finals, a wide open women's 5000m, Josh Kerr's 1500m to win however he pleases, and both 200m finals.(00:54:55) And finally, which event pays the most per second of work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch it with us! Our members call the races live on Discord, and a small monthly pledge gets you the community and a bonus Applied show every week.Show notesOur day one recap, and a look ahead to a much bigger day two:(00:00:52) First impressions of the Ultimate Championship. The black infield, the pink sand, a schedule that felt rushed, and camera work that never quite showed us the athleticism. And don't get us started on the predictions(00:07:26) The money, at $150,000 to a winner and $40,000 for third, which beats winning a Diamond League final.(00:15:39) Our featured event, the men's 5000m. Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks 13 minutes off a season wrecked by surgery, and we ask why his rivals let the middle kilometers drift.(00:34:43) Masai Russell caps a season of meeting records at every Diamond League she ran, plus the world record.(00:37:43) Ja'Kobe Tharp, this year's world record breaker, beats Cordell Tinch in the 110m hurdles. Do both hurdles records go again next year?(00:40:25) Day two brings six finals, starting with the 400s, where Marileidy Paulino and Collen Kebinatshipi look untouchable.(00:44:14) The women's 1500m, where tactical intrigue creates an open race(00:47:30) The women's 800m, our race of the weekend. Audrey Werro is unbeaten all year, and Femke Bol and Keely Hodgkinson are both coming for her.(00:56:00) The 100m finals, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden against Julien Alfred, and a men's field covered by six hundredths.(01:01:49) Prestige, or just the cash? Our verdict after one night Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter and the Applied show lands in your feed every week, plus Discourse, where two of this week's arguments are already running.Doping in South African schoolboy rugby, the end of the track season, and racing in 44 degree heat at the Vuelta. In the news this week:(00:02:07) The track and field season is winding down, and the Diamond League final felt a little flat. The Ultimate Championships are next, and in a season where they follow the Diamond League, we wonder what purpose the Diamond League final actually serves?(00:10:05) Is the 800m a sprint or an endurance event? Some discussion popped up on Instagram, so we revist the 800m event, get into energy system contribution, why the 1983 world record has survived, and explore why every improvement has come in the first lap, all as part of making the case for the 800m as a sprint-endurance hybrid(00:22:49) Jakob Ingebrigtsen calls the Brussels field cowards and losers after Cole Hocker's training partner is put in as a pacemaker. Should a final have pacemakers at all?(00:31:08) Rumesh Pathirage wins the javelin, and we wonder why the event has the widest geographic spread in athletics(00:36:12) Doping in South African schoolboy rugby, and the perverse incentives that make it so hard to fix. A survey found one in ten schoolboys admitting steroid use, and two thirds said it was to look good rather than to perform. Almost half don't see it as cheating. We discuss the incentives that create toxic culture in many youth sports, with a specific focus on a recent piece on SA schoolboy rugby(00:54:12) Triathlete Joe Skipper gets 18 months for three whereabouts failures. We say that being disorganised is no defence(00:57:41) 44 degrees at the Vuelta, Matthew Brennan calling out the UCI, and whether shortening a stage or moving the race in the calendar helps(01:05:52) Carlos Alcaraz says he'll take longer breaks, tennis has a load management problem, and the one-handed backhand dies after a 149 year run(01:19:08) And finally, why can elite powerlifters squat more than they deadlift? Gareth wants your answer on Discourse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of the podcast, for the price of a coffee! You'll get ad-free listens, and our exclusive Applied show, including our upcoming dissection of Femke Bol's coach's insights on her amazing transition, as discussed on the show.Show notes(00:06:29) Alison dos Santos takes Karsten Warholm's 400m hurdles world record with 45.80s, catching Warholm by the fourth hurdle. We get into stride patterns, why Edwin Moses ran 13 strides and Kevin Young 12, which leg leads on the bend, and how shoes may have interacted with fatigue to drive hurdles forward more than sprinting.(00:15:59) Masai Russell's 12.09 is the first 100m hurdles world record set without a following wind since 1986. She was anticipated as the next WR holder, and she delivered, with the promise of faster and an 11.xx on the horizon.(00:24:35) Femke Broders-Bol takes the 800m out from the front against Audrey Werro, and why the tactic was right for her even though it suited Werro perfectly.(00:34:57) Bol revealed her LT and long run paces, to much amazement. But her coach Laurent Meuwly explained this in detail, and sets us up for a fascinating discussion on Bol's transition and ceiling. We talk about her statement that her endurance is "so bad for 800", why her 400m speed matters far more, and tee up our upcoming Applied show where we will dissect her coach's explanations to Citius Mag(00:27:23) Karsten Warholm on a chaotic calendar, with our thoughts(00:43:23) The Vuelta without Tadej Pogačar, where tactical mistakes carry a cost again, and cycling as we haven't seen for a decade. Plus, Tom Pidcock's mountain bike win.(00:52:11) Novak Djokovic's US Open exit, and a physio who refused to treat Terence Atmane's cramp. Is cramp an injury, or a conditioning problem?(00:58:22) Aaron Donald returns to the NFL at 35, and how much conditioning an athlete loses.(01:02:54) Yomif Kejelcha's 56:51 half marathon, and who breaks two hours this autumn? Ross reckons two might do it.(01:09:16) Jeff Browning's heart attack at UTMB, and Jenny Simpson's collapse. Fitness is protective, but it isn't immunity, with David Epstein's terrific article(01:13:35) South Africa against New Zealand, and racing robots in China, where our advice is to stop short of a wall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Briton Tony Davies has pretty much seen it all when it comes to television sport broadcasting. With over 20 years' experience in broadcast TV as a director, producer and writer, Davies has made a number of documentaries, including the RTS-nominated A Bat and Ball War, and worked on numerous sports events including the FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Paralympics, Asian Games, Wimbledon, Open Championship and Tour de France.His broadcast experience opened the door to event management roles, and Davies has worked as Broadcast Venue Manager on the past three Rugby World Cups. He was also the Broadcast Project Manager for the Special Olympics in 2019. During his early years, he worked on the legendary sports magazine show, Trans World Sport and his interviewed some of the biggest names in world sport, including Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Maradona, Pele, a 13-year-old Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Wayne Gretzky, Kip Keino and even Whitney Houston and John Candy.In this episode we talk about how commentators are chosen, the economics of sports broadcasting, how modern technology is changing how we watch sports and what the future holds in the digital age for viewers.Davies lives in Nelson, New Zealand, where he lives with his wife and six (yes, it's not a typo !) children. He enjoys a number of sports including cycling, running, boxing, hunting, fishing and paddling. He is a frequent visitor to the UK, where he still has a base, and to Asia, where he does production work for the BBC.Also, for our Real Science of Sport Members, stick around after the show for some bonus content as we continued our chat with Tony and got even more fascinating insights, including his thoughts on social media influencers as broadcast 'partners', why he doesn't buy into the 'all access' documentaries so frequently made about sports events, and his choice of best documentary ever made. If you're not a member, a small monthly donation gets you that bonus content, ad-free listening, exclusive shows and membership of our Discourse community, of which Tony is a member too! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not yet a member? Ad-free listening, the Discourse community, and a members' show every week, all for less than you spend on gels.Show notesOn the show this week, a European Championships wrap featuring Nadia Battocletti's astonishing 10,000m finish and Audrey Werro's win over Keely Hodgkinson, a German sprinter under a doping cloud, world records in the pool, and a follow-up on peptides.(00:01:41) A follow-up to the peptides show with Mike, and the thing Ross wishes he had said. The anecdote that BPC-157 failed to fix someone's Achilles is the human version of publication bias, because nobody ever tells you about the thing that didn't work.(00:12:23) The European Championships format and the broadcast, which featured more talking heads than athletics on the BBC, and an athletic programme with far too little action relative to downtime.(00:16:52) The women's 800m, where Werro beat Hodgkinson for her fourth sub-1:55 of the year, and Bol ran a national record in third. Whose trajectory looks best in the medium to long-term?(00:28:26) Batocletti's exceptional sprint finish, and a Tim Noakes tweet asking why she could speed up at all. Ross explains the end spurt, the reserve we all hold back, and why this particular race proves rather less than it appears to.(00:31:52) A stat from Jason Henderson: Batocletti's last 200m was 28.17, Werro's in the 800m was 29.11. Not a typo, and we explain why the fatigue of an 800m is a completely different animal, and speculate that it's probably more common than you'd think for the 10000m races to finish faster than the 800m ones(00:34:37) Andreas Almgren's solo 10,000m, run at 26:43 pace for the final 8.8km. Tactical optimization and a signal for a sub 26:30 in the future?(00:40:22) Amy Hunt's four golds, and a newspaper headline that poured cold water on them.(00:43:42) Owen Ansah wins European gold under a doping cloud, having refused a test because he had a flight to catch. What counts as "compelling justification", and why a 2016 case suggests he is in trouble.(00:52:26) The tragic death of Fin Tarling, the near-impossibility of policing a 1,300km course, and Adam Hansen's call for better helmets, which are certified only to 19.5km/h.(00:59:47) Swimming, where Kate Douglass broke the 50m freestyle world record twice in a day, a 19-year-old German went under 14:30 for the 1500m free, and Lani Pallister beat Katie Ledecky over 800m for the first time.(01:10:46) And finally, South Africa versus New Zealand has branded itself "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry". Gareth is not buying it. Ross offers the context for why it's about more than rugby, but also great rugbyNo news show next week, but there's an interview show planned for Monday, and the members' Applied show will take overtraining next week Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everywhere you look people are talking about peptides. But what exactly are they, how do they work and how safe are they for human consumption? Mike and Ross review the evidence, discuss the politics that continue to muddy the waters around peptide efficacy and regulation, and examine the dangers of using untested peptides. The team also look into the role of the popular GLP-1's that have revolutionised diabetes and weight loss and the controversial BPC-17 peptide, touted as a miracle treatment for tissue repair.LinksThe Undark article that describes the history of BPC157More on the FDA and the complex regulation of peptidesA report on one of the FDA decisions about peptides - in this case BPC157 and KPVA paper from the discoverer of BPC157, who has published more than three-quarters of the research on itThe human safety study on BPC157, with its two participantsSystematic review of BPC157 evidence, suggesting promise but cautionA well researched article by Dr Eric Topol raising concerns about safety and regulatory decisionsExample of a public warning from a regulatory body, this one from South AfricaFollow the money - Fortune 500 piece on why deregulation could create a multibillion dollar marketBecome a Supporter of The Science of Sport for about the price of a coffee, or a gel, and help us keep the lights on, and Gareth's candle burning! Plus, you'll get ad free listening, a weekly Applied show, and a community that argues better than the internet does! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport for about the price of a coffee, or a gel, and help us keep the lights on, and Gareth's candle burning! Plus, you'll get ad free listening, a weekly Applied show, and a community that argues better than the internet does!Show notesOn the show today, the physiology behind the best women's Grand Tour we can remember, and a doping ban that fits a pattern we have seen many times before.(00:01:00) The Tour de France Femmes was, we think, the best Grand Tour either of us has watched in years, and we explore the nine stages of unpredictable racing that had us intrigued, even if the record will show that Demi Vollering won four of them.(00:05:56) Kasia Niewiadoma's ride on Mont Ventoux, at somewhere between 5.3 and 5.6 W/kg for the climb, is arguably the greatest climbing performance in the history of women's cycling, and we place it against the published power duration curves to show just how far outside the 90th percentile it sits.(00:17:19) Niewiadoma also posted 9.9 W/kg for 86 seconds, and from that single Strava screenshot we work out her FTP and her W', the anaerobic "battery", which lets us answer the question everyone argued about, namely whether being blocked into that corner actually cost her time to rival Vollering. We think the answer is unequivocally yes, and the maths and the principle of pacing explains why.(00:25:50) Praise for Puck Pieterse, sympathy for Marlen Reusser and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and a wonder about the 'mature' podium, and the prospect of a handover to the next generation in good time, just not 'our time'(00:41:41) The World U20 Championships, where a 17 year old ran 7:28 solo for 3000m, Tate Taylor doubled up in 9.94 and 19.83, and the ever-turning carousel of youth talent that is sometimes derailed by injury and sometimes deposed by the next young phenom(00:45:46) Jakob Ingebrigtsen returns and wins the European 5000m title in 13:16, off a slow race that played into his hands, and he explains, correctly, that a 5000m is not a test of speed but of how much speed you have left. He also promises he'll be "astonishingly a lot better" next time.(00:52:32) Jonah Koech gets a three year ban after an adverse passport finding. We explain how the biological passport actually works, why two suspicious samples means the values must have been wildly out of the norm, and why his 3.2% improvement should have invited scepticism long before the blood results did. Performance is not proof, but pattern recognition lives on, with this its latest illustration.(01:07:46) The WNBA has no eligibility policy, so two former NBA players have declared for the women's draft to prove the point. We discuss why choosing not to decide is itself a decision, how people are choosing to pretend a problem doesn't exist (or that it doesn't matter if it does), and contrast this with the WTA who have implemented screening for eligibility, and just gotten on with it(01:15:29) And finally, the origins of the steeplechase, which begins with two blokes, an Irish pub, a wager, and two church steeples. Plus a nutritionist on social media who watched 96 seconds and decided we had lost all credibility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport, and you get ad-free listening, an Applied Science bonus show every week, plus a seat at the best conversation in sport. All for less than a decent gel.Show notesJosh Kerr, the Commonwealth Games, a stitch explained, the Tour de France Femmes, and yet another South African schoolboy rugby doping ban. In today's show:(00:00:38) We joked before Glasgow that this might be the last Commonwealth Games we ever see, and we were wrong. They survived in a cut-down, ten sport form, with India in 2030 and interest from Nigeria and New Zealand for 2034. We debate whether a smaller, cheaper games is actually the point rather than the problem, and what it means that the BBC's sub-one-million-pound bid was rejected, leaving Josh Kerr's mile watched by 200,000 people when Eilish McColgan's 10,000m in 2022 drew six million.(00:02:37) The performances, including Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon running 9.83 in apocalyptic rain, three women under 11 seconds, and Josh Kerr's utterly dominant 3:54 mile off a jogged first kilometre. With the fastest mile in history relative to his peers and a devastating kick, how does anyone actually beat him now, and will the 1500m world record follow? Kerr says he is flying a little close to the sun, and we explain why staying in world record shape is like sitting in the death zone on Everest.(00:24:13) Laura Muir crossed the line 16th and collapsed after a stitch at 3km, so what actually causes one? We go through exercise related transient abdominal pain, the old diaphragmatic ischaemia theory, the newer parietal peritoneum irritation explanation, why shoulder tip pain is referred pain, and the risk factors including drinking before you run, being younger, being female, and having weaker trunk muscles.(00:33:56) Ingebrigtsen returns at the Euros over 5000m off two disrupted seasons and Achilles surgery, and we're not sure it'll be the comeback people hope for.(00:44:52) The Tour de France Femmes is brewing into a genuinely great race, with time gaps after the time-trial necessitating attacking racing as the Tour heads into its hilly and mountain stages. Niewiadoma and Ferrand-Prevot in particular need to claw back big time, while Reuser defends and Vollering waits ominously in pole-position. Instead the world's media is writing about padded bras. Why does cycling always shoot itself in the foot, and why is it a headline for the women when it was an incidental for the men?(00:47:40) Tadej Pogačar's estimated VO2max of over 100 is doing the rounds, using exactly the methods Ross was hammered for using on Contador and Froome fifteen years ago. We explain the modelling, why assumptions can spit out anything between 85 and 101, and what that means for comparing Pogačar to Pantani on Alpe d'Huez.(00:55:56) The full Markéta Vondroušová decision is out, and it reads very differently to the version that had tennis players outraged. Plus a hard look at South African schools rugby, where Deon Botes is the third schoolboy banned in months, this time for a supplement his father allegedly bought for cash from a stranger outside a pharmacy with "ultimate test booster" on the box.(01:12:47) Jannik Sinner walks away from a potential clean sweep of the Masters events to play less tennis before the US Open, while Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Cincinnati and extends a wrist injury layoff that has now cost him May, June, July, and half of August. Two very different answers to the same question, and one that echoes Josh Kerr's approach to racing.(01:15:00) And finally, an update on Anna's ride around Australia. Nine days, 976km, 7,940m of climbing, one chain change, and three magpie attacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ross Hemingway, OBE, is a Sport & Exercise Medicine Practitioner at the Commando Training Centre for the Royal Marines. His clinical expertise centres on exertional collapse, in particular the prevention, acute management, and rehabilitation of exertional heat illness (EHI) in elite, amateur, and tactical athletes, and is recognised as a UK national expert in this field. Hemingway is also a member of the UK Heat Illness Advisory Group and a contributing author to the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care’s (FPHC) UK consensus statement on the management of Exertional Heat Illness.In this interview, Hemingway breaks down the theory of heat illness, how it happens, prevalence, and the best ways of dealing with EHI during exercise.Alongside his clinical practice, he is also the founder of Nereus Medical Ltd and inventor of the patented I-CWIK, a lightweight, robust and clinically proven system developed to provide effective cold-water immersion of heat stroke casualties in the pre-hospital and hospital environment.Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport, and for the price of a coffee, or a gel, you get a bonus Applied episode every week, ad-free shows, and the best cycling and running community going over on Discourse.SHOW NOTESThe EHI Consensus Statement websiteThe Full EHI Article, of which Ross is lead authorOne of the studies Ross alluded to, this one from the World Champs in DohaAnother paper he mentioned, discussing athlete management ahead of the Olympic GamesThe baboon model for heatstroke discussed on the showWe published a study years back documenting some heatstrokes in SA endurance events Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport, and for the price of a coffee, or a gel, you get a bonus Applied episode every week, ad-free shows, and the best cycling and running community going over on Discourse.Show notesThis week we recap Tadej Pogačar's record-breaking Tour de France, and then get into the meat of it: why anti-doping leans so heavily on investigation and targeted testing, with insights from our interview with Brett Clothier, head of athletics' Athletics Integrity Unit.(02:24) Tadej Pogačar wins a fifth Tour de France in what Ross reckons is the most dominant display he has seen in any sport, and we dig into the numbers behind it, including an estimated 7 W/kg on Alpe d'Huez that obliterates Pantani's old mark, why the yellow jersey was effectively settled by stage six, and why the racing everywhere else still made it a decent watch.(13:55) The weight-loss double standard. Remco Evenepoel reportedly dropped around nine pounds for the Tour with barely a murmur, while Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's weight loss dominated the coverage last year. We ask why the reaction differs by sex, and where the line sits between periodised, medically supervised leanness and a genuine eating-disorder risk.(19:42) That Montmartre finale, with Van der Poel and Pogačar breaking clear on the last climb, van der Poel's heroic's to hold off the chasing pack, and Jasper Philipsen's remarkable judgement to "win" by not winning against his team-mate. Plus, we ponder whether the GC should really be neutralised so early on the final day? We say let them race.(32:37) The headline this week: why testing alone rarely catches the big fish, and why investigation and targeted testing do. Prompted by the furore over 2am and 5am testing at the Tour, we hear from Brett Clothier of the Athletics Integrity Unit, and explain the biological passport, the micro-dosing of EPO, fast-clearance methods, gene-doping fears, and why a genuinely "transparent" statement about a target test is close to impossible without prejudicing everyone involved.(46:26) A look ahead to the women's Tour de France, the contenders including Vollering, Blasi, Niewiadoma, Ferrand-Prévot and Reusser. With storylines galore, it features the return of a time trial, and French TV figures showing the women's race is closer to the men's than you might expect.(51:48) Are the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow still worth watching without the stars? Gareth is won over by the weightlifting, and we ask whether you really need the very best in the world to enjoy sport.(58:49) The Ultimate Championship, athletics' new 10 million dollar, three-night, TV-first format, complete with a black infield, real-time win probabilities, Mondo Duplantis on stadium DJ duty, and no country quotas. We react, and Ross pitches what he would add to the broadcast(64:16) Josh Kerr reveals how the pacing lights were slowed over the final 100 metres of his mile record to create the illusion he was beating them. Clever theatre, or are we being deceived?(67:00) And finally, Discourse member Ana sets off on a 15,000km "big lap" of Australia on her gravel bike. We wish her luck, and start plotting the data she should share with our listener community!LinksThis is the ITA statement during the Tour - it's really all they can say and expecting more is a day dream!The article on gene doping - speculative and sounds like sci-fi, but might it be happeningThe paper on micro-dosing and detection challengesPlugge on how the tests brought doping back to cyclingPreview of the TDF for WomenDetails on the World Athletics Ultimate Championships Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quick heads up before we start: this is not a brand new episode. If you are one of our Members you will have heard it in full about six weeks ago, when we released it as a Members' only Applied show. But we thought it was too interesting and relevant to stay behind the paywall, so we have cut it down into this shorter version and opened it up to everyone, partly because we want sports science to reach as many people as possible, and partly because it is a taste of exactly what supporters get every week, ad free, alongside our Discourse community! So join now and get it early, ad-free and with post-pod chats!The show was sparked by Gareth's admission that he paces his Zwift time trials by "trying not to die", which, as Ross points out, is already a sign the pacing has gone wrong. Pacing is not about reacting to fatigue once it arrives, but about managing effort now based on its future consequences. Using the analogy of a budget, we look at the two things it defends against, depletion of fuel like carbohydrate and creatine phosphate, and accumulation of heat, hydrogen ions, and other metabolites, and why good pacing is a skill that has to be learned.From there we get applied. Why has elite pacing become flatter over the generations, why can you never bank time in a long event when the 400 and 800 metres break that rule, and how should you actually pace a hilly time trial? Drawing on Remco Evenepoel's world title ride, we anchor everything to FTP, unpack the concept of W', your anaerobic battery, and show why the extra effort you should spend climbing or into a headwind is far smaller than instinct suggests.Whether you are chasing a marathon PB, a Zwift time trial, or simply trying not to blow up halfway, there are practical lessons here to get you to the finish faster. And if you enjoy it, this is only half of the full discussion. The complete version, plus a new Applied show every week, is waiting for you in the supporters club.LinksRoss' PhD was on the anticipatory regulation of performance. That is, pacing. This is the main summary article that came out of that PhD and related workThe physiological regulation of pacing strategy for performance. Another review article from Ross' PhD workThe Hazard Score, and how RPE interacts with distance remaining to regulate pace, as discussed on the podcastThe paper that analyses world records and shows the surprising finding that performances have been unlocked with faster starts and smaller endspurtsEntropy and positive pacing in the 800m. Nice accurate conclusion, the rest, we aren't so sure we understand! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport, and along with our undying gratitude you get a bonus Applied show every week, ad-free listening, and a seat in the best community in sport. It costs less than a coffee, or a gel.Show notesThe big story this week is another Tour de France anti-doping row, with race leaders Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard woken to give samples at 5am and 2am. But first, we discuss a forgettable World Cup final and a long overdue Mile world record(00:01:27) Spain beat Argentina to win the World Cup, in what Ross and Gareth reckon was the worst final in living memory. We discuss a game in which Argentina seemed intent on being regressive and aggressive, why the best player in the world was left stranded, the role fatigue and the extra day's rest may have played, and whether a solid tournament deserves better than a grudging seven out of ten.(00:16:14) Josh Kerr does exactly what he said he would and breaks Hicham El Guerrouj's 27 year old mile world record at the London Diamond League, running near-perfect 55 second laps on route to his 222. Point 66. We get into his near-perfect even pace, how wavelight technology has reduced the risk and unburdened the athlete to chase physiological limits, whether that cheapens anything, and why the 1500m record should surely be next.(00:35:23) The big story. Pogačar and Vingegaard were dope-tested at 5am and 2am on the morning of a mountain stage, and all hell broke loose. We explain why an 11pm to 6am block is normally sacrosanct and exempt from doping, but why allowances have to be made to test athletes within it on occasion. We the "serious and specific suspicion" exception that received judicial sign-off under French law, what that implies, and why we will probably never know. Vingegaard later crashed out with a broken collarbone, so we ask whether the two are linked, and the extent to which this is a wake-up call for cycling (and some of its fans), or just more of the same?(00:59:36) And finally, the Commonwealth Games open in Glasgow this weekend, pared back to ten sports and stuck behind a paywall. Did anyone notice? Has the world moved on? We say a fond, faintly baffled farewell.LinksSome stats from the one-sided World Cup FinalHow the Mile was won: Some analysis of Kerr's record, including the splits Gareth read outSome details on Josh Kerr's custom shoeRoss' brief thoughts on the early morning testing controversy on XMore detail on the exemption made, judicial approval and nature of suspicions (good), along with some speculation about Seixas and a call for transparency (silly)Vingegaard's team on the crash and possible reasons for it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of the Science of Sport and you'll get the Applied show every week, ad-free listening, and a seat in the best community in sports science, all for the price of a coffee a month (or a gel if you're a cyclist). Here are all the membership benefits, join now!Show notesThis week our headline topic is a "concussion sensor" being trialled by some teams at the Tour de France, and why it is a welcome innovation, but one that, for now, invites potentially dangerous false hope. We also take a spin through the rest of the week in sport, covering football, cycling, tennis and track and field. Oh, and hotdogs.(00:00:20) The World Cup nears its finale, and Spain utterly outplayed France to reach the final, making fools of our predictions after Gareth handed France to Ross. We get into why the France-Spain dynamic flipped so completely, the scarcity of penalty shootouts this tournament, the mooted expansion to 64 teams, hydration-break ad money paying for the broadcast rights, the ref cam, and the goal-line technology row over the England-Norway "wire" incident.(00:16:18) Following our David Bailey podcast, we ask whether the peloton is simply scared of Tadej Pogačar, whose dominance at the Tour has riders like Ben Healy and Florian Lipowitz shaking their heads in bewilderment. We also unpack why "marginal gains" and sports science only ever matter as a point of difference, borrowing points-of-parity and points-of-difference thinking from marketing.(00:24:16) Our headline piece. A "concussion" sensor sitting behind the helmet's BOA dial is being trialled by some teams the Tour, and we explain why the name is a dangerous misnomer. A helmet-mounted device measures helmet acceleration, not the brain, may be triggered off by cobbles, and can never be diagnostic. We explain that it could be used as a triage tool, not a diagnostic one that replaces road-side assessments. Drawing on rugby's mouthguard data, hundreds of thousands of head-acceleration events with poor sensitivity and predictive value, and the case of Torstein Traen, who passed a roadside check yet was later diagnosed with concussion, Ross explains that this is a genuine safety opportunity, but only if cycling gets the framing and the use of it right.(00:40:06) A wrap of the Wimbledon finals, with remarkable mental resilience from the new women's champion Linda Noskova, and Jannik Sinner's dominant serve. We look at Sinner's serve speed and placement, and how Zverev manages type 1 diabetes on court.(00:45:53) A rush of track action from the Monaco Diamond League, including Emmanuel Wanyonyi's 1000m world record and a brave but doomed attempt at the 3000m WR by Birke Haylom, who paid for what ended up being a pacing error by coming last. We also look ahead to the London Diamond League, headlined by Josh Kerr's much-hyped mile world record attempt, the women's 800m with Hodgkinson and Bol, and a stacked men's 800m.(00:57:50) Does South African rugby have a doping problem? A new positive for junior Springbok prop Kai Pratt, SAIDS rejecting the "witch hunt" framing, and Ross digs into the numbers: testing down more than six-fold in a decade, South Africa accounting for one in five rugby doping cases worldwide, and an anti-doping body whose budget has flatlined. We argue why "sour grapes" is no defence, and why the answer is to test more, not deflect.(01:04:57) And Finally, Joey Chestnut wins another July 4th hot dog title, with the Kobayashi method as competitive eating's "super shoes", and an Ironman in Swansea sends us down the rabbit hole of how organisers conjure those economic-impact and "media value" figures, plus the leader who rode straight into a stationary ambulance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Team NSN Cycling is one of the most exciting teams in the World Tour peloton, and Lausanne-based Briton David Bailey is its Head of Sport Science. Amid the pressures of being at the cutting edge of athletic performance, Bailey talks us through the current trends in pro cycling, including nutrition, training, health, tech, and even the role of AI and data management. Bailey has over 20 years of experience in elite sport as a coach, scientist, and performance director, I has supported world-class athletes, including multiple Olympic and World Champions. Bailey has also worked for the BMC and Bahrain Victorius pro cycling teams and comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience. SHOW NOTESTeam NSN website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love the show? Becoming a Supporter unlocks a weekly bonus Applied episode, ad-free listening, and our Discourse forum where you can engage with us directly. All for the price of a coffee, once a month, so become a member now!Show notesMost of us watch football and follow the ball. Football journalist Michael Cox watches the spaces, the shapes and the patterns that few others understand. As we build towards the FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals, Ross and Gareth sit down with one of the sharpest tactical analysts in football writing, and perhaps the best at explaining it. Whatever your level of interest, you'll come away seeing the game completely differently.Cox runs the rule over all the major teams and players at this year's World Cup, dissecting and explaining their strengths, their weaknesses, and what will decide each tie. Along the way he unpacks the tactical questions casual fans never quite get answered: how France's individual brilliance differs from Spain's possession and shape, why Messi and Haaland barely run and how whole systems are built to let them save their bursts, the shift from man-marking to zonal defending, the risk-and-reward of a full-back charging forward the instant his team loses the ball, what "shape" even means, and why he's the most data-sceptical "data nerd" you'll meet.Then the harder ground. What's holding back the development of African, South American and Asian football, and is the European academy machine now so dominant that its cast-offs are better than the players other nations produce at home? As for VAR, he explains what he'd change, why he thinks it's stripped the joy from celebrating a goal, and how one fan-owned league in Europe refuses to touch it.Whether you live for football, or only watch the biggest games, this wide-ranging interview will change how you watch football.Today's Guest: Michael CoxMichael Cox founded the influential tactics site Zonal Marking in 2010 and is now a regular contributor to The Athletic. He's the author of two books — The Mixer, on the history of Premier League tactics, and Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football.He is a keen supporter of @KingstonianFC. You can follow him on X: @Zonal_Marking and BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/zonal-marking.bsky.socialLinksMichael's bio page with The New York Times, containing links to all his articles (paywalled articles, unfortunately - selected articles to read for Members on Discourse)Michael's first book, The MixerZonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football, his second book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not a Supporter yet? For the price of a coffee a month you get ad-free shows, a weekly Applied Science show, access to our Discourse and Discord communities, and participation in our listener research studies — join the Real Science of Sport here.Show notesIn this week's Spotlight, Ross and Gareth take on the news:(00:02:00) Football World Cup: England survived altitude and Mexico, and Ross's numbers explain how — less total running, fewer sprints, the game deliberately slowed down. It's a collective pacing strategy dictated by physiology, not just tactics. Plus VAR is amplifying the chaos rather than ending it (Argentina's late smash-and-grab over Egypt, a sensor in the ball denying Croatia), and six African teams knocked out in the dying minutes.(00:28:00) Tour de France: our first read on the opening stages, and why the new team time trial format, where the rider's individual time counted, added genuine tactical intrigue.(00:31:00) The story that troubled us most: riders starting stages very sick in 40°C heat. After De Lie and Uijtdebroeks pushed on while ill, we discuss the incentives in elite high performance sport that put team doctors is unenviable and often compromised positions, and whether, as with concussion in rugby, sports governing bodies should step in to alleviate the conflicts faced by medics?(00:39:00) The science of pre-cooling: why INEOS sat in a row with their forearms in cold water. Ross explains the AVAs, the skin's heat-dumping shortcut, and why the water mustn't be too cold or you shut the whole thing down.(00:53:00) Record watch: Josh Kerr's unusual race-free build-up and his 3:42 fixation, Keely Hodgkinson's choppy season, and Faith Kipyegon's first 1500m/mile defeat in five years.(00:58:00) A cracking paper spotted by listener Steve O'Hale: 870,000 Berlin finishers show men are twice as likely to hit the wall as women. And, counter-intuitively, the faster the men, the more likely they are to blow up, relative to women. Ego or physiology? We dig in.(01:08:00) And finally: a 10-year-old tennis prodigy, homeschooled and training seven days a week. A feel-good story, or early specialisation and survivorship bias dressed up as one? Plus Wimbledon heads for it's 9th straight first time winner on the women's side.LinksOur football World Cup thread, for Supporters Club members, containing all the Mexico-England analysis and more discussion on the tournamentMovistar under fire as Uijtdebroeks races on while illThe Stanford Glove - researchers thought they'd found a way to 'hack' cooling with a Zoolander like vacuum gloveBBC article on Josh Kerr's 3:42 target preparationsKerr on the importance of psychology in his preparationThe Nature paper on men vs women pacing strategies in the marathon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love the show? Become a Member and get a weekly bonus episode, ad-free listening, our VIP community, and a real say in what we discuss!Show notesFormula 1 is one sport we've never properly tackled, so who better to guide us through it than a man who spent 25 years on the inside? Dom Riefstahl is a mechanical engineer who went straight from graduation into BMW's F1 programme, later moving to the Sauber F1 team and then to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 outfit, where he worked with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Riefstahl now keeps his eye on the ball as an F1 pundit for Luxembourg public broadcaster RTL.In this interview, Riefstahl takes us inside the world's most sophisticated sport, and, in particular, the fascinating triangle among driver, engineer, and car. He explains how a driver's feel for the car is translated into action by engineers armed with 400 sensors and 40 000 channels of data, why the great drivers are the ones who can tell whether a problem comes from their own driving or from the car itself, and how a top driver sometimes feels things the technology can't yet measure. Along the way, we learn what it costs to develop a driver from karting to an F1 seat, why reaction time can quietly end a career, why the truly great champions are hypersensitive about everything from tyre temperatures to wafts of garlic, and why the driver you're most likely to have a pint with will probably never be world champion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a member of The Real Science of Sport Podcast, and join our community, get ad-free shows, exclusive episodes, and a world of discussion on topics just like this! Click here for all the Member Benefits.Show notesA bonus hype show ahead of Sunday's World Cup round of 16 between Mexico and England, where altitude has become the story everyone is talking about. Sparked by Thomas Tuchel's lament over a FIFA rule and the team's potential "smash and grab" altitude adaptation theory, Ross explains why the idea of sneaking in and out before altitude bites has no supporting evidence at all. You only ever get better from the moment you arrive, and so FIFA compelling England to travel earlier is quietly helping them!From there, Ross unpacks the physiology: lower air pressure, less oxygen reaching the muscles, a compromised VO2 max ceiling, and everything performed at a higher relative intensity. Drawing on repeated-sprint studies and FIFA match data from Mexico's altitude venues, he builds and tests a hypothesis, that visiting teams run less at high speed and make fewer sprints, with a dose-dependent decline as altitude rises. The small, admittedly limited study illustrates how Mexico's altitude adapted advantage might manifest in sprint and high speed running differences from the start, getting progressively larger. Ross closes on what England can realistically do tactically to respect the physiology.LinksThe Guardian article on England's foiled smash-and-grab paradigm, fortunately for them!This is the study I've seen cited in support of the late-arrival theory, even though its conclusion actually refutes the advantage!A study showing that you only get better, over 6h, 17h and then 48h, so get in as soon as you canAnother one, this time over longer time frames, looking at how we improve with more time at altitudeBrosnan study on repeat sprint interactions with altitude and rest period Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a member of the Real Science of Sport! You get ad-free shows, a member exclusive show every week, access to our communities and post-pod discussions, plus the chance to participate in our unique research studies. There's more too - click here to see all the benefits, and a small monthly pledge is all it takes!Oh, and play our Tour de France Fantasy League - we have one special rule - no Pogacar allowed! It's league number 90980, Science of Sport, and the password is ISMPJShow notesThis week's Spotlight checks in on our global durability study, takes another lap of the World Cup, visits the Diamond League in Paris, previews the Tour de France and its heat challenge, and ends with saltwater crocodiles.In this show:Our listener durability study is underway (members only!), and Ross and Gareth compare notes after completing the first session, a brutal five minute TT plus 20 minute FTP protocol. Ross explains why you have to drain the anaerobic battery before the 20 minute test, why pacing a time trial on your own is harder than you think, and why the biggest limitation in the study might not be physiologyThe World Cup is into the knockout rounds and listener Robert Ridley has done the maths on whether teams that go to extra time are at a disadvantage in the next game. The answer might be yes, about 1.5x more likely to lose if they play a team who hadn't had ET the game before, but we discover the confounding factor that complicates that findingA proposal resurfaced on Discourse and social media this week for a structural fix to extra time football, one that involves running the penalty shootout before the 30 minutes rather than after it. Ross explains where the idea came from, what the data says about goals in extra time, and why football fans on social media were not especially receptiveMoving onto athletics, Audrey Werro ran 1:53.80 in Paris, another personal best that edges her closer to the oldest WR in the sport, but we explain why the record attempt fell short, and what her split data tells you about the mindset that Werro and Hodgkinson need to bring to their races to really threaten the WR. Femke Bol is now in the picture too, and her progression curve is worth paying close attention toMarco Arop ran 1:41.84 in the men's 800 and declared he is going for Rudisha's world record. We discuss whether the men's record might actually fall before the women'sThe Tour de France starts this weekend in temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees by the end of the first week. We discuss a study documenting rising temperatures at the race over the decades, why the UCI's heat protocols are again under scrutiny, and what the Tour's own route designer says about how he is now choosing routes specifically for shadeUCI president Lappartient has floated the idea of reducing Tour de France team sizes from eight to six riders and introducing budget caps. The internet reacted badly, including a memorable contribution from Johan Bruyneel. We make the case that smaller teams might actually create more dynamic racing and more opportunities for smaller squads, with the acceptance that there are economic factors in play. But we wonder, why criticism is often so loud, but so empty?And finally, an IOC official has just discovered that the rowing venue for Brisbane 2032 is in a river that is also home to saltwater crocodiles. His suggested solution was a fence. We hope the rowers don't catch a croc... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From muscle growth to a treatment for Alzheimers, creatine has been touted as the 'King of Supplements'. But what does the science say about one of the most researched products in sport? Enter Dr Eric S. Rawson, Chair and Professor of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who has spent two decades studying the effects of creatine on the brain and muscle. In this in-depth interview, Rawson breaks down the long history of creatine research, how it works, who it works best for, and the latest research into its cognitive benefits. Rawson has been an active member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) since 1996, has served on the ACSM Board of Trustees and is a Fellow of the ACSM (FACSM). Dr Rawson has delivered more than 180 professional presentations, is co-editor of the text Nutrition for Elite Athletes, co-author of Nutrition for Health Fitness and Sport, and has authored/co-authored numerous articles and book chapters. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and various foundations.SHOW NOTESRawson was involved in the IOC consensus papers on supplementation. Here is the latest of these, including a section on creatineA systematic review and meta-analysis on creatine use, combined with resistance trainingA review on safety concerns over creatineThe 13500 person review on the side effects of creatine use with long-term supplementationWidely hailed as the original creatine paper, by Harris et al, this showed that supplementation with creatine could increase muscle stores significantlyStudies showing that muscular performance was enhanced by creatine supplementationA recent scoping review explores the available evidence on the possible protective effect of creatine in concussion managementDisclosures from Dr Eric Rawson:• Been taking creatine since 1992• Have published/presented a fair bit about creatine and other supplements. You can see Eric’s research profile here• Been fortunate to receive funding from NIH, various foundations, universities, and companies• Current research funding: none• Have received speaking honoraria for lectures that included creatine• On SAB of Alzchem (studied creatine supplements for 20+ years first). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British football journalist Ben Lyttleton literally wrote the book on football penalties. As the author of 'Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty' and 'Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football', Lyttleton is arguably the world's leading authority on the subject. His encyclopedia-like and passionate knowledge of both the game of football and the controversial penalty, make this one of the most entertaining podcasts we have done yet. This podcast was first published in August, 2022, but is sure to be relevant to the final weeks of this year's edition as we head into the knockout stages.SHOW NOTES: The Twitter handle of our guest Ben Lyttleton: @benlyt, or https://twitter.com/benlytBen’s website, Twelve Yards: https://twelveyards.substack.com/Article on where to aim, high or low: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/high-or-low-where-to-aimFascinating article with video on Neymar’s now illegal stop-start method, and his adjustments: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/what-neymar-did-nextThe curse of the superstar - why stars miss more penalties: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/mbappe-culture-and-the-superstarThe study on English players’ failure in shootouts that kicked off this interview: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19058088/Emotional contagion paper, and how player celebrations affect shootout results: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20544488/The most famous penalty miss ever? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8WtxgFvvj0The original panenka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXWIZULgyw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become part of the Science of Sport Community, and take part in our global durability trial, plus get our free show, ad-free listening, and our world class forums! A small monthly donation is all it takes!This week's Spotlight focuses on the doping case of Marketa Vondrousova's four year ban for refusing to provide a sample during an out of competition test in 2025. We also return to the USA for some Football World Cup insights, cover some injury science with implications for Keely Hodgkinson's season, and issue a call to arms for members ahead of our durability experiment. Here's what's on the show today:A leg-breaking tackle in the Canada versus Qatar game sparked a debate among our listeners on Discourse that cuts to the heart of how sport punishes dangerous play. Should the sanction reflect what the player did, or what happened as a result? Ross draws on his rugby background to explain why outcome-based punishment is more common and more defensible than it first appears, and why intent is almost impossible to use as a standardTravel demands at the World Cup are discussed by a listener in this article - we ask whether this could be decisive to the outcome, which takes us on a journey into travel load and its implications for performanceThe momentum graphics appearing on screen during World Cup broadcasts continue to prompt discussion among our listeners. We explore how they actually work, why they might be interesting to fans but are almost certainly meaningless to coaches, and what question you would need to answer before you could trust them at all?Our main feature is former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, now banned for four years for refusing a doping test. We explain why the anti-doping system has to treat a refusal as the equivalent of a positive test, why her own social media post on the night made things worse for her, and why comparing her ban to the Sinner and Swiatek cases misses the point entirelyKeely Hodgkinson withdrew from the 400 metres at the UK Athletics Championships in tears after experiencing "hamstring tightness" before the race. We explore why, even if this turns out to be nothing, the pattern of recurring hamstring tightness is worth paying close attention to, and shares the sobering statistics on hamstring re-injury rates and risk factors that make this more than just a precautionary withdrawalWorld Rugby has permanently approved a lower tackle height for community rugby, but with a catch: different unions can choose between the waist and the sternum as their legal limit. We discuss why that flexibility exists, what it means in practice, and what would have to be agreed before any change could come to the elite gameA cyclist suffered a concussion during the Tour de Suisse and continued racing for several more stages. Gareth's initial reaction is that it's another policy failure by the UCI, but we discuss it and discover a number of scenarios that would explain how it happened without any fault from the UCIAnd finally, a call to action for members. Our Applied show this Friday will cover durability, and we are turning it into a live global experiment. Over the coming weeks we will be asking supporters to complete a set of time trials on the bike, and we will use that data to build your power duration curve, work out your W prime, and calculate your durability index. All the details will be on Discourse and Discord for membersOh, and why is Messi so comparatively poor at penalties? Our previous guest Ben Lyttleton shares a piece he wrote on why the best ever is average from the spot! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter, and get ad free podcasts, your exclusive Applied science show every week, and access to our listener community, with all its insights and opinionsShow notesThe Football World Cup is underway, and hydration breaks have been one of the early storylines. We discuss whether they are a genuine player welfare initiative, or a (very) thinly veiled advertising slot, whether there will ever be evidence they are changing the dynamics of matches, the concept of momentum (real or imagined?), and why a combination of heat and end of season fatigue might explain some lacklustre performances so far?Teenage phenoms had mixed fortunes in the Diamond League last week. Cooper Lutkenhaus flew (literally, across the line) to another win, this time over the Olympic champion in the 800m, while Gout Gout stuttered in his Diamond League 200m debut. Gout partly bounced back in Ostrava, but he highlights again the challenge of unrealistic expectations. Speaking of Ostrava, Werro was fast again, while Bol impressed in her debut, but is, for now, a generation and 3 seconds behind the big two. Can she improve enough to legitimately challenge them, and what will it take for Werro and Hodgkinson to get closer to that WR, from a pacing and race strategy perspective? We discuss.A genuinely wild NCAA Championships in Eugene produced what might be the best single meeting of sprint performances in history, headlined by a shock 110m hurdles world record from 20 year old Ja'Kobe Tharp. We work through the collegiate records that fell in the 400, 200 and 100, and ask when next these athletes will run as fast as they did last week?Adaejah Hodge was one outstanding performer, clocking the 5th fastest time ever over 100m, a 10.63s. Her backstory asks some uncomfortable questions about a secret doping ban, a case resolution agreement, and a high school coach who was the target of the investigation. We unpack the details and ask whether the sport is getting the trade-offs right?Letrozole, fertility treatment, and an unusually candid announcement from double world champion Gudaf Tsegay explain why her four month doping suspension is one of the more sympathetic cases we have coveredRemco Evenepoel's threshold power numbers were revealed in his latest YouTube video, and we discuss what 425 watts for an hour actually means heading into the Tour de France, why durability rather than fresh power might decide the race, and why the one hour threshold power may be less of an issue for the Belgian than his 20 to 40 min climb powerAnd finally, some good news from the Discourse community: Supporter club member Sophie coached an athlete using some of the heat adaptation advice from our listener community to help prepare for altitude, and the athlete went on to win a European uphill running title by over two minutes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a supporter of The Real Science of Sport, and get ad free shows, exclusive Applied Science shows, and access to our Forums and chat rooms. Plus, you can join our growing Zwift racing community and take on Gareth and Ross in a weekly TT! A monthly pledge is all it takes!In this show:Switzerland's Audrey Werro delivered a stunning plot twist in the women's 800m, running the third fastest time in history (1:53.98) in Stockholm to beat a personal best from Keely Hodgkinson. Suddenly the world record conversation has two names in it. We discuss Werro's emergence and potential, the tactical error that may have cost Hodgkinson slightly, and what this means for the possibilities that the oldest world record in the sport falls this yearWhere does Femke Bol fit into all this? The Dutch 400m hurdles star changed events in search of new challenges, but the event is evolving so fast that the challenge looks significantly greater and she's not even raced outdoors yet! We discuss whether her 400 meter speed is a genuine weapon or whether the 400-800 double is as rare as it is for good reasonCooper Lutkenhaus is the most exciting teenager in track and field, already a world indoor champion, and now a Diamond League winner. We talk about his pedigree and potential, with Gareth nothing a multi-sport background that augurs well for his longevity. Challenges and 'road bumps' await, but he has a ceiling that may lie beyond the current world recordKirsty Coventry said she doesn't believe in paying Olympic athletes, and it has not landed well. Global Athlete has responded with a proposal for interim payments and a breakdown of the IOC's finances that is staggering. The IOC is sitting on nearly five billion dollars in reserves, and Global Athlete are asking for eight percent of the Paris broadcasting revenue. We ponder why Coventry made that statement knowing it would invite significant blowback, and what it reveals about the pressure she is under from inside the IOC. We also speculate on whether there are any good reasons to avoid paying Olympic athletesAnna van der Breggen lost the women's Giro on the final day from the pink jersey, her second Grand Tour lead lost this year. We explore why smaller team sizes in the women's peloton make tactical racing both more unpredictable and more compelling, and why the women's Tour de France is shaping up to be exceptionalThe UCI's weekly rule update: no more front jersey pockets, bike computers limited in size, finishing straights must now be at least 200 meters, and an appeal against the Belgian court ruling on gear ratios. We work through each one, pick out the ones that make sense and the ones that really don't, and ask again why the SAFER data hasn't been made public to respond some of the criticisms the UCI are receivingChristian Eriksen collapsed again during an international friendly, this time saved by his implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Ross explains what the device actually does, how often it fires appropriately versus inappropriately, and why Erikison's second event raises serious questions about whether continuing to play is tenableAnd finally, a listener on Discourse solved the mystery of why Shohei Ohtani's baseball salary looked so low on the Forbes rich list. The answer involves 68 million dollars per year deferred over a decade, void years, ghost contracts, and some of the most creative accounting in professional sport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join The Real Science of Sport Supporters club for ad-free listening and our exclusive weekly Applied Science show! A monthly donation is all takes!This week's Spotlight opens in Paris, where Roland Garros has delivered one of the most chaotic and compelling Grand Slams in recent memory, and ends on a Las Vegas track with a promise of $10 million unlikely to be fulfilled. Along the way, we explore retirements and comebacks, bike weight scandals, regulatory issues and a surprising way to boost your red blood cells.In today's Show:For the first time in the Open era, not a single former Grand Slam champion reached the men's round of 16. Ross and Gareth try to make sense of a tournament turned on its head by epically long five-set matches, multiple two-set-up defeats, and the emergence of potential new stars to challenge the duopoly atop men's tennisSinner is gone, Djokovic is gone, and the heat played a starring role. We revisit our applied show on heat adaptation to explain exactly why Sinner's implosion was both predictable physiologically, but surprising in its speed and persistenceSerena Williams has accepted a wildcard to play doubles at Queen's at 44. We explore the motivations for her return, and discuss why elite athletes retire in the first place? A thread on Discourse sparked by James gets us exploring the psychology and physiology of retirement, and why the grind we don't see is often the causeIn cycling, Lorena Wiebes was disqualified from the women's Giro after her bike allegedly weighed in 20 grams under the UCI's 6.8kg minimum. Was the punishment proportionate? Is the UCI's measurement process up to the required standard? Are SD Worx guilty of playing it too close to the limit? We discuss.A Belgian court has ruled against the UCI's attempt to impose gear ratio limits on the sport, finding the regulation neither necessary nor proportionate. We explore the implications well beyond cycling, and ponder how the UCI's failure to present a clear justification for the regulation was ultimately its undoingTilting your bed by six degrees could raise your EPO levels by 13% and increase hemoglobin mass by nearly 5%. Ross unpacks a genuinely fascinating new study, explaining why the mechanism is the same as altitude and heat training, whether the effect will be additive in athletes, and whether elite athletes are already quietly propping up their headboardsA carbohydrate question from supporter Tony ahead of his national canoe championships: does glycogen depletion in one muscle group affect availability elsewhere? Ross explains the elegant logic of local storage and use, the lactate shuttle, and why liver is the unsung hero of endurance fuellingAnd Finally, the Enhanced Games have announced a $10 million bonus for anyone who breaks Usain Bolt's 100m world record at their 2027 event. We discuss whether that will be enough to entice the truly fast man to race, doped or clean, and what it might mean for athlete's participation in the Olympics following an Enhanced Games Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get ad-free listening and exclusive shows by becoming a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport!In our Spotlight this week:The heat wave in Paris is making life very difficult at Roland Garros, with Casper Ruud describing himself as "walking around like a zombie" during his first round match. We explore the physiology of heat regulation in tennis, how safety policies are developed to protect players, explain why heat changes the tactical and technical nature of play, and what can be done to help players without handing out free passes to those less well preparedSean Ingle joined us recently to talk about the Enhanced Games. We share our thoughts as the dust settles, with more reflection on why the premise of trustworthiness was never really delivered, the money that is turning athlete's heads, and Gareth walks back a few things he said in the heat of the momentWe explain the deliberate logic behind World Athletics' new qualification standards, and what it means for athletes without a good agent or a seat at the Diamond League tableRugby and concussion are in the Spotlight again with two research developments. First, a group of researchers is promising a new evidence-backed head impact assessment protocol for women's players. Ross doesn't know exactly what that means, and we discuss what is already known about women's susceptibility to concussion. Then, a new study out of Ireland provides the first published evidence that lowering the legal tackle height in rugby has reduced concussion and overall injury rates at community level. Ross, who has been directly involved in the process, explains what we now know, what still needs work, and why a 20% drop, scaled across tens of thousands of players, is a genuinely meaningful public health winCan an athlete still compete professionally in multiple sports at the highest level? A great question from listener Robert to our Discourse community (another reason to join our supporters club for more!) sparks a wide-ranging conversation, from Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders to Rebecca Romero and Elise Perry — and why early specialisation has made the whole idea increasingly impossibleForbes has released its top 10 highest-paid athletes of 2026. Ross and Gareth play a guessing game, reflect on what the list says about the business of sport, money and sex, and note that no woman made the top 50. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a member of our Enhanced Real Science of Sport community by becoming a member to get access to exclusive shows, ad-free content and our world class discussion forums. A monthly pledge is all it takes and you'll unlock all those benefitsShow notesThe Enhanced Games came and went in Las Vegas, amidst much hype, a host of personal bests but only a single world record. Was the event a success, and a taste of what is to come, or a spectacular flop? What do we make of allegedly clean athletes beating dopers, and dopers failing to challenge world records, often by large margins? As the sports world figures out what to make of it, Sean Ingle, chief sports reporter and columnist for The Guardian, joins us fresh from attending the event to share his experiences, thoughts and unfiltered verdicts.Sean went in expecting grifters, but discovered something a little more complicated. He spoke to true believers of the "human enhancement" movement, billionaire backers, and athletes who made business decisions that may become increasingly difficult for other sports to ignore. Sean relates those conversations and his impressions of what they imply for the future of sport.We ask the harder questions too. Will the Enhanced Games grow or stall? What are the risks if the business model that uses athletes to promote drugs for anti-aging purposes succeeds? And what lessons must traditional sport take from an event where athletes averaged $166,000 in a single night, and where the phone of at least one Olympic swim coach hasn't stopped ringing since?Sean has placed his own sportsman's bet with one of the funders, Christian Angermeyer, that the Enhanced Games won't survive past 2031. He explains why he believes this, despite factors that suggest that "enhancement" is here to stay, and why he'd still rather be wrong than just ignore it.LinksSome of Sean's articles on The Enhanced GamesWhy he believes The Enhanced Games will fail by 2031The questions Sean wrote will need answering prior to his visit to VegasInitial reactions from Vegas on the night of the GamesThe Enhanced Games reject the timing controversy as "drivel" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport, and as mentioned, get a bonus episode of Applied Science every week, access to our world class forums, and (we hope) ad-free listening soon!Show notesOn the decks today:A new paper raises "substantial concerns" about the tool that is regularly used to diagnose a progressive neurodegenerative disease in contact sport athletes. We discuss the paper, and how the discourse around brain health of retired contact sport athletes has created anxiety and fear to the detriment of the athletesThe Women's Six Nations concluded, England winning it again with victory over France. We discuss the tournament, with Ross raising concerns about one-sided contests through, and the total stratification of teams, while Gareth is more optimistic about some statistical trends that suggest progress, at least on the part of some teamsOn the subject of women's rugby, the trials for a smaller ball have received more criticism from international players. Ross explains how the process is run, why nobody is being ambushed, and how the smaller ball has been explored for six years and counting to get to this pointJanik Sinner won another Masters tournament last week, breaking the record for most wins (now at six tournaments, and 34 matches, with only three lost sets). Gareth wonders what can possibly deny the Italian a French Open and Wimbledon, now that Alcaraz is missing both those Slams? Ross reckons maybe muscle cramps can defeat him...A listener, Andrew, asked an intriguing, and unanswerable question in our Supporter community - which sport would it be best to be elite at? And which is worst? We offer our thoughts and criteria for what qualifies the sportAnd Finally, the Enhanced Games are on Sunday, and Sean Ingle is attending. We offer our thoughts on what we'd most like to see happen at the Vegas circus. One swimmer is taking some precautions in anticipation of the side-effects, and we promise to revisit the performances in next week's show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter and share your views - a monthly pledge gets you access to the Community, and our endless appreciation!Show notesIn the news this week:Operation Obsidian - A collaborative investigation between WADA and World Rugby produces a big doping bust in Georgian rugby, revealing collusion and corruption, but to what end? We explain how almost 40 years of bans were given out, and what remains unanswered and unknown(00:16:18) SA Prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye has been banned for 18 months, for drugs he says were prescribed by a specialist physician. We explore why this case may run for some time, and have some major implications(00:26:15) The women's Vuelta finished atop the Angliru, producing a new champion and some chat about gear ratios and torque. Plus, concussion in the Giro, with dramatic crashes and racing igniting the race in its first week(00:41:52) Who is the Greatest of all time? Sports scientists set out to take the subjectivity out of the question and produce their lists of the greatest track athletes ever. Do you agree?(00:54:25) A Times survey says a worryingly high proportion of young adults are using banned, harmful products. We wonder about the risk of doping and how the Enhanced Games will amplify it(01:09:20) Gout Gout gets his (latest) 60 minutes of fame. As his star continues to rise, good things are being said, now the performances will follow. We discuss the hype and unrealistic expectation that is steadily building on Australia's superstar(01:15:35) Who wins a half marathon between Luke Littler and Mo Farah, if they have to complete a 501 leg of darts every mile? A ridiculous question, perfect for Gareth to bring his pub darts experience to the fore! Who do you think wins? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Discourse - our Supporters club is awesome, and it's yours for the price of a coffee every month. Or a gel. Become a supporter and get twice the value after the show, and a chance to influence it too!Show notesIn today's Spotlight, a spin around the world of sports news, and some listener questions answered:A look back at the World Relay Championships from Botswana, featuring some of the greatest relay performances ever seen, including from some unheralded namesLondon Marathon statistics, courtesy a pair of analyses that shed light on how we pace marathons, and how few actually get it rightThe fine line between regulating and strangling innovation in sport, after Coe speaks about super shoes in runningSpeaking of innovation, do the Enhanced Games count? We look ahead to that event with some thoughts from Sean Ingle's latest articleWe tell you why we think Paul Seixas going to the Tour de France is the right decision and discuss the risks people had offered against itListener JRB asks a question about training with carbohydrates, and whether there's any merit in a 'train low, compete high' high approach when it comes to carbs?Still on the subject of carbs, what's the deal with fructose? Listener Phillip asks about its role in the carbohydrate model, and we explore some theory and practical adviceA smaller ball is being trialled in women's rugby - at least one player is very unhappy about it. We discussIn the AFL, teams will be mandated to employ psychologists full-time in response to an incident featuring a player. Is that the right call? In some ways, but Ross has some reservationsLinksLondon Marathon statistical analysisSebastian Coe speaks on Super Shoes and innovationSean Ingle's articles on the Enhanced Games - the questions he'd ask them if he could goSeixas to the Tour"The worst decision someone has ever made" - Harrison is not pleased about a smaller ball in women's rugbyThe AFL mandates that clubs employ full time psychologists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How reliable is Artificial Intelligence (AI) when it comes to health, wellness and training advice? Writer, educator and Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Dr Nick Tiller, recently led a research study entitled "Generative artificial intelligence-driven chatbots and medical misinformation: an accuracy, referencing and readability audit." which focused on the feedback and information given by AI in this vital space. Tiller and his team looked at the technology behind AI, how information is delivered and then tracked the validity of the information based on sound, scientific evidence. The results were disturbing, but Tiller still has some advice on how best to use AI when it comes to our own health.Tiller is a research associate at the Lundquist Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre and is the author of two books: The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science (Taylor & Francis), which was named one of Book Authority's "Best Sports Science Books of All Time," and The Health and Wellness Lie (Bloomsbury), described as "the systematic dismantling of a trillion-dollar con."​​​​With a master's in kinesiology, Tiller worked as a performance physiologist on the UK’s Olympic programme before earning his doctorate in Applied Physiology from Brunel University London. He has since held academic posts in the UK and Los Angeles, where his research at the prestigious Lundquist Institute focuses on exercise physiology, respiratory medicine, and the science of extreme exercise - a field he knows firsthand as an accomplished ultramarathon runner. His recent work examines health misinformation and questionable research practices.​​​​A prominent voice in science communication, Tiller writes for Skeptical Inquirer and Ultra-Running Magazine and serves as associate editor for the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. He's authored more than 150 general-audience articles and is a frequent guest on television, radio, and podcasts. In 2023, he was named a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry for his commitment to promoting science literacy and critical thinking.SHOW NOTESNick Tiller and his colleagues' paper on the performance of AI in response to health and exercise questionsThe BBC story based on Tiller and Co's PaperDr Nick Tiller's Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support The Real Science of Sport - if you love what we do, and if you want to be part of the community and share views that will add even more insight to sport, a small monthly pledge is all it takes!Show notesSebastian Sawe's astonishing 1:59:30 marathon world record is in the spotlight today, as Gareth and Ross go deep into the physiology, technology and history of running to explore every angle. How was the race actually run, and what do the splits tell us about Sawe and predict about the future? How did Sawe shatter a barrier that had seemed impossible for so long? What role did the latest super shoes play, and how did they make fools of historical predictions by many, including Ross? To what extent is this performance credible given Sawe's proactive AIU doping initiative? How did the protagonists fuel their efforts? And what next for Kejelcha and Kiplimo, whose extraordinary performances were diminished by Sawe's shadow, and for the marathon over the coming year? If you're looking for the full picture, our Spotlight will reveal all of it.Also: Carlos Alcaraz is injured again and will miss the defence of his Roland Garros title. Is this the shape of a future derailed by injury, and what does he need to change to build the durability of those before him? Plus, Allyson Felix is eyeing a comeback at LA 2028; we discuss her chances.LinksLetsrun article on their 2013 prediction and how it was disproven by the recalibration in the marathonSean Ingle's views in the aftermath of the breakthroughMichael Joyner on the perfect physioloyg for a sub-2 hour marathonRoss' own dismissal of the sub-2 as imminent, before the game was recalibrated by the shoesA look at Sawe's fuelling strategy from Marathon HandbookKejelcha's fuelling from Chris ChavezAlcaraz out of the French OpenAllyson Felix has her sights set on LA 2028 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

English sports psychologist Dr Josie Perry delves into the mental challenges that often hold sportspeople back from success. From the role of our own mental threats to the traits that are present in successful athletes. Perry offers a fascinating insight into the psychology of performance. The team also delve into the prevalence of ADHD in top-performing sportspeople, why mental toughness may not be a good thing, how training can help us overcome mental blocks and the role of techniques like visualisation and mantras. Perry is a chartered psychologist working with top performers in sport, on stage, and in business. Perry has a background in communications and behaviour change, having worked for many years in journalism, marketing, public relations and crisis communications across private corporations and government. She has an MSc in Communications, an MSc in Psychology and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. She also has a PhD in Political Communications.She is a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a member of the Association of Applied Sports Psychologists (AASP). She is registered with the Health Care Professions Council. She writes features for sports magazines and websites and is regularly quoted in the media on how athletes and other performers can use applied sports psychology to enhance their performance.Check out more on Dr Perry HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.