The Real Science of Sport Podcast

When Kenyan Ruth Chepng'etich took nearly two minutes off the women's marathon world record, the sporting world was aghast. How did she do it? Shoe tech, nutrition, race tactics? With a doping cloud hanging over Kenyan athletics, it's easy to see why so many are sceptical. Join Prof. Ross Tucker and sports journalist Mike Finch as they assess every aspect of the run in an effort to explain one of the most astonishing running performances in history.SHOW NOTESThe paper by Mason et al on how the shoes have boosted women’s distance runners more then men.The Joubert & Jones paper that compares different shoes, including Figure 2 that shows the individual variation between models of the same brand.Another similar paper on individual variability by Knopp et al.For analysis of the performances since super shoes were introduced.A piece by Toni Reavis in defence of Chepngetich’s performance.The article by Amby Burfoot that Reavis mentions. Amby does not hold back. The AIU list of Kenyans currently serving doping bans. You can count the drug type to see if the show conversation was accurate. The CAS Decision on Rhonex Kipruto, in which his doping is described as a “sophisticated doping regime. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a post-Olympic break the team wrap up all the latest hot topics and news from our Discourse channel. We share details of how the rollout of rugby's smart mouthguards is going, discuss Jakob Ingebritgsen's crazy half marathon debut and how best to use sport science to help a small-budget cycling team. We also explain the ongoing doping saga of tennis world number one Jannik Sinner and ask if the world governing body for cycling, the UCI, is doing enough to ensure the safety of riders after the death of an 18-year-old at the World Championships.SHOW NOTES Jon Wertheim's excellent piece on the Sinner doping scandal from SI.comThe Guardian's piece on the death of Muriel FurrerIngebrigtsen's crazy half marathon debut Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American trail star and coach David Roche not only won his first 100-mile trail race at the Leadville 100 this year but also broke a 30-year-old record. In this interview, Roche explains how he adapted to the high altitude using hot baths, trained his body to take in high concentrations of carbohydrates and planned out his race strategy. Roche also talks about how speed over shorter distances is the best predictor of ability of longer distances, why mega training mileage may not be the right strategy for mega-distance races and the impact of super shoes on trail racing.SHOW NOTES: Follow David on Instagram and Youtube Follow David and wife Dr Megan Roche's podcast Some Work, All Play on Apple Podcasts. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back with a Spotlight show, and in this one, we discuss the case of Janik Sinner, who was cleared earlier this week of a doping violation after a panel agreed that his positive test for clostebol was caused by his physiotherapist's use of a banned substance to treat a finger cut while performing massage treatments on the player. We describe the timeline, the challenge faced by anti-doping authorities, and the controversial speed with which Sinner was able to continue playing after appealing provisional suspensions on two occasions. We also shine a spotlight on risk in sport, after a tragedy at the CrossFit Games in Texas, where a 28 year old participant died during a swim item. The team explain why swimming is where the danger exists, and then discuss the philosophy of risk and the tension between the core values of a sport, and the duty of care of the sports to protect athletes from foreseeable and unnecessary risks.Join DiscourseIf you've enjoyed our Paris Daily podcasts, and generally love sports science, consider a small donation to become a Patron of the site, and get access to our Discourse community, where you can join like-minded fans and sports enthusiasts to keep the conversation going.Show notesJanik Sinner SpotlightSummary of the Janik Sinner decision by the ITIAThe Full Decision of the case can be read hereThe study showing clostebol positive tests through contamination, cited in the defenceEdmund Willison's article on clostebol positives, primarily in ItalyCrossFit Games SpotlightStudy on deaths in triathlon, showing the high proportion that happen on the swim legPaper that proposes Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema as a cause of swim-related deathsLay article that explains SIPE and interviews researchers who study it, including discussion of how risk is mitigated and managed by events Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.