The Real Science of Sport Podcast

There's a lot to catch up on today's Spotlight. Four weeks of Festive season sport means a range of topics from technology failures in the Ashes to the "Battle of the Sexes" debacle, thoughts on cyclo-cross dominance and excitement, Biathlon's appeal, Luke Littler's darts revolution, and some Enhanced Games ruminations as more athletes are announced. We also tease a few 2026 sports events, and hope you'll join us throughout the year for sports science insights and discussions.For the discussion that continues long after the podcast, become a member of the Real Science of Sport Supporters club by making a small monthly or annual donation and get access to our Discourse communityLinksArticle on the Kyrgios-Sabalenka reactionsLuke Littler's moment and the growth of dartsTechnology fails England at the AshesGareth's fascinating exploration of the not-so-simple guide to fitness (Supporters Club Members access)Stuart Phillips' paper on resistance training - just do it, and don't get stuck on the detailsMichael Ashenden on the Enhanced Games - the source of our philosophical discussion on doping in the showThe sad death of Sivert Guttorm Bakken of NorwayUSA-Canada relations are not looking good - this time thanks to a skeleton controversy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2025 winds down, Gareth, Mike and Ross reunite to look back on a packed and fascinating year in sport and sports science in a bumper Year-end show!We pick through the highs and lows, heroes and villains, innovations and failures, revisiting the moments and stories that stood out — and those we’d rather forget. Along the way, we debate the best athletes, the greatest achievements, the biggest let-downs, and our own favourite podcasts and sports science stories of the year.We rarely agree on our picks, but through lively discussion, our definitive, decisive, utterly unmissable and questionably authoritative show brings insight, perspective and (occasionally) clarity to the world of sport in 2025!If you have enjoyed 2025 along with us, and want to show your support, you can become a Member of our Science of Sport Supporters Club by making a small monthly pledge at Patreon - think of it as buying us a cup of coffee once a month. You also get access to Discourse where you can read, or engage, with fellow listeners and point out all the great sporting achievements we missed this year! Happy holidays, and see you all in 2026! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the body established to oversee drug testing and other integrity issues within the sport of athletics and road running around the world.. Established in 2017 in response to the deepening credibility crises within International Amateur Athletic Federation (now World Athletics) doping processes, the AIU is an independent body designed to oversee drug testing among the top tier in the sport. Brett Clothier is the current head of the AIU and, in this wide-ranging interview, explains the mandate and jurisdiction of the AIU, how doping cases are investigated, how testing is done and why the recent increase in Kenyan positives is a good thing.Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport by making a small monthly pledge, and you also get access to our world-class community of experts and enthusiasts. Plus you get to explain sports like F1 and Squash to Gareth and Ross! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport by making a small monthly pledge, and you also get access to our world-class community of experts and enthusiasts. Plus you get to explain sports like F1 and Squash to Gareth and Ross!Show notesToday, we focus on three news pieces from last week that reminded us of other stories we covered during 2025. The first two concern weight loss and management in elite sport, beginning with a look at the GLP-1 agonist issue (28:27). This was triggered by reports in the UK advising people that they must continue to exercise, specifically weight train, in order to combat the loss of lean mass that has been observed on the drug, which some have equated with aging a decade. Elite sport, meanwhile, will have to consider whether to ban such drugs as potentially performance-enhancing or harmful.On the subject of harm, we stay on weight issues to discuss RED-s (40:10), in the light of a remarkable and candid announcement by elite cyclist Veronica Ewers that she's taking time away from the sport to address issues that she explains go back over a decade. Her story highlights all the traps - control and thoughtfulness about discipline, obsession over measurement and gadgets, disordered eating, intense training, positive validation in competitive environments, the remarkable ability of the body to tolerate this punishment, but ultimately, the sacrifice of health in a misplaced pursuit of performance. We talk about the lessons we can all learn, thinking back to Pauline Ferrand-Prevot's victory in the TDFF, which was a success story for weight periodization.We also cover precocious talent, after a three-year old Indian prodigy earned a chess ranking (1:00:40). That reminded us of Malcolm Gladwell's "compression of adolescence" concept, and we talk about the inefficiencies sport accepts in its pursuit of the next champion, highlighted numerous times this year, with the realization that the system is broken and won't be fixed unless there is a collective will be fix it.Also in this show, a more light-hearted look at the Football and Rugby World Cup draws (2:54) has us bemoaning the dilution of quality and the dearth of competitive matches early in those tournaments. And we chat about a super-fast Valencia marathon (10:43), that threw up fast winning times and nine national records, leading to a chat about globalization of the sport, the dominance of African runners, the slowest marathon nations (with some reasons), and the density of men's and women's top performers.Plus Gareth remembers that Curacao is both a drink and World Cup finalist, and Ross defends Ghana's football honour!Other linksReview article advising resistance training in people taking GLP-1 agonistsPaper that examines weight loss after 1 year of exercise or GLP-1 drugsMore in-depth look at appetite and exercise behaviours in that studyStudy finding risk for RED-s in 30% of triathletes, including the tools that can be used to identify risk factorsCycling teams paying young riders big salaries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the Real Science of Sport Supporters club, and get access to the sports science community where at least one person (usually many more) knows the answer to every question you can possibly ask! Plus, engage on news, training, diet, and other sports science related topics with fellow listeners! A small monthly pledge makes you a Supporter, and the Science of Sport Community awaits!Show notesToday on the Spotlight, we kick off with a chat about whether your running shoes are causing injuries (4:24). This, after a former elite runner has sued Nike for an injury she claims was the result of running in carbon fiber plated footwear. Ross and Gareth talk about the complexity of running injuries, why proving a single cause is a near-impossible task, but why the claim is not necessarily a total no-hoper, given what we know about injury and these particular shoes. We look back at some precedents, sort of, where shoe companies have settled after claims, but with some very important subtle differences.We then shift to Track and Field for a pair of stories (32:29). World Athletics crowned their Athletes of the Year this week, with Mondo Duplantis and Sydeny McLaughlin-Levrone taking the overall honours. We throw some praise Mondo's way, and not because he's virtually unbeatable and playing with the World Record. We also discuss Grand Slam Track, which is surely in its final days after the depth of its latest financial hole were announced, and Track and Field Athletics, whose supposed demise may have been greatly exaggerated (37:23)We finish with a couple of contact sports stories. Ross co-authored a paper he thinks could transform how Rugby Union handles contact training to minimize head impacts (47:40). And we spotlight listener Petulant Skeptic, whose insights on infections and hand-washing in hospitals shed light on Guardian caps and reducing concussion risk (58:39).Oh, And Finally, Ross has a tale about a mattress that will do things you simply won't believe. Or at least, you shouldn't!Links to some articlesFormer elite runner sues Nike after being injured in AlphaflysIt's not all frivolous - this paper suggests a possible injury riskInjuries are multifactorial and very complex as this Umbrella Review makes clearOne of the papers I published with Dr Nic Tam on barefoot running, showing that even 8 weeks of supervised progression didn't turn us all into smooth barefoot runners, and may thus increase injury risk for manyVibram settled - not for causing injury, but for false claimsReducing full contact training in Rugby barely reduces head impacts in elite men's players - the paper we discussedThe outstanding post by Petulant Skeptic on what infection and handwashing may tell us about Guardian caps Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.