The Real Science of Sport Podcast

Jaksot

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  Why We Were Born To Run 14.09.2026 1t 20min

  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.
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  Ultimate Championship Day 3 Recap / Jefferson-Wooden in 21.47 / Kerr in Control / Dos Santos Delivers / Broadcast Underperformances 14.09.2026 1t 1min

  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.
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  Ultimate Championship Day 2 Recap / Kebinatshipi's 43.39 with a New Race Plan / Werro Controls the 800m to Cap a Dominant Season 13.09.2026 56min

  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.
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  Ultimate Championship Day 1 Recap / Ingebrigtsen Reigns Supreme / Masai Russell's World Record Season 12.09.2026 1t 7min

  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.
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  Incentives, Toxic Cultures and Doping in School Sport / “Cowards” and “Losers” on Track / It’s Too Damn Hot at the Vuelta 09.09.2026 1t 26min

  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.
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  Two World Records in Zurich: Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell / Femke Bol's Fascinating 800m Transition / Cycling We Haven’t Seen for Ten Years in The Vuelta 02.09.2026 1t 19min

  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.
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  Inside The World of Sports Broadcasting 24.08.2026 1t 33min

  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.
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  How can a 10,000m Runner Outsprint an 800m Runner? / Werro tops Hodgkinson, Again / Ansah's Missed Doping Test / Swimming World Record Watch 19.08.2026 1t 17min

  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.
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  The Science-Backed Truth About Peptides 17.08.2026 1t 20min

  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.
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  Kasia Niewiadoma's Mont Ventoux Masterclass / The Physiology of Losing a Yellow Jersey / A Doping Ban That Fits a Familiar Pattern 12.08.2026 1t 23min

  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.
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  What Causes a Stitch When You Run? / Josh Kerr's Mile Dominance / Pogačar's VO2max of 100 / Another SA Schoolboy Doping Ban 05.08.2026 1t 17min

  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.
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  FEATURE: How To Beat the Heat 03.08.2026 1t 45min

  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.
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  Why Anti-Doping Needs Target Testing and Investigation / Pogačar's Record Tour de France / The Weight-Loss Double Standard 29.07.2026 1t 10min

  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.
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  The Art and Science of Perfect Pacing (Members' Exclusive Show, Now Unlocked for All) 27.07.2026 42min

  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.
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  The Tour de France 2am Drug-Test Controversy: Why Pogačar and Vingegaard Were Woken to Test / Josh Kerr's Mile World Record / A World Cup Final to Forget 20.07.2026 1t 4min

  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.
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  A "Concussion Sensor" Comes to the Tour de France / Spain Dismantle France / Does SA Rugby Have a Doping Problem? 15.07.2026 1t 10min

  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.
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  The Science Behind a Pro Cycling Team 13.07.2026 1t 34min

  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.
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  Stop Watching the Ball: Michael Cox Unlocks the Fascinating Hidden Sides of Football 09.07.2026 1t 19min

  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.
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  England Survive Altitude and Mexico / The Doctor's Dilemma in Elite Sport - When Is Enough? / How Women Out "Pace" Men in Marathons 08.07.2026 1t 18min

  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.
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  Inside the World of F1 Racing: An Engineer's Perspective 06.07.2026 1t 37min

  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.