The Real Science of Sport Podcast

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Show notes

In this Spotlight, we kick off with three doping stories in Discourse Digest. Ruth Chep...

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In this week's show, we tackle intriguing physiological questions raised by listeners, explore whether different types of exercise interfere with one another to undermine training benefits, and run the Spotlight across stories from the sports world.

In Digest this week (10:02):

• One of the great swimmers of the last decade, Ariane Titmus, has retired in...

Forty-year-old lawyer Andrew Feather hit the news headlines recently when he 'beat' Tadej Pogacar in an exhibition handicap uphill cycle race. Even though Feather may not have actually ridden the Pogi challenge faster than the world number 1 (he won by three minutes after getting a six minute head start with the rest of the amateur field), his performance was still staggering given that he is an amateur with all the pressures of a ...

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Show notes

This week on Spotlight, we dive DEEP into the world of physiology, pacing, fatigue and ...

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Show notes

It's a Bro-Science discussion today, as listener David inspired debate with a post on his epic Zone 2 indoor ride, and got us thinking - how do we spot Bro Science? Is it all b...

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Show notes

In Spotlight this week, we look back at a packed weekend of sports action and offer insights on the big events. We kick it off with the AFL (1:3...

The 2025 UCI World Road Cycling Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, delivered plenty of drama and debate, and SOS host Mike Finch was there to witness the action first-hand and ask if this was the best championships of the century. We also have the post-race interviews with the big stars and discuss whether Remco Evenepoel can really upset the two-time World Champion Tadej Pogacar at the upcoming European championships on October 5 an...

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Show notes

The Spotlight is back! This week, our Discourse Digest kicks off the show with a...

Join the conversation on Discourse. Have your say and read what fellow listeners think of the Tokyo 2025 action. A small monthly pledge on Patron gets you that, and so much more, and is a way to show your support for what we do.

On the Track today

Tokyo 2025 is a wrap! On the final day, the surprises continued, as Kenya's Lilian Odira beat favourite Keely Hodgkinson to win the 800m title, securing a first ever sweep fo...

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On the Track today

In track action today, the middle and long distance titans clashed, as Faith Kipyegon raced Beatrice Chebet over 5000m. A tactically intriguing race with so many potential pl...

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On the Track today

Having missed Day 6 due to travel woes, we take a look back the highlights from Tokyo on Thursday, which included a historically fast women's 400, won by Sydney McLauglin Lev...

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On the Track today

The Race we’d all been waiting for, and it didn’t fail to deliver! It did, however, deliver a major surprise, as Isaac Nader became 1500m world champion. Ross and Gareth disc...

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On the Track today

It was a day for the pre-event favourites to deliver in Tokyo. Faith Kipyegon produced a near- perfect display of front-running to win yet another major 1500m title. Cordell ...

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On the Track today

A remarkable day, with gold and silver split by 0.03s in one of the great marathons, surprise gold medals in the Men's Steeplechase and Women's 100m hurdles, and a disappoint...

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On the Track today

The fastest man and woman in the world were crowned on track in Tokyo today. Could Lyles defend his 100m crown and continue the US dominance of the event, or would the Jamaic...

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On the Track today

The first gold medals were contested on track today, with the women's 10000m and mixed 4 x 400m relays kicking off the gold rush. We dissect those races, discussing how they ...

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Show notes

In this (supposed to be) quick Spotlight we look back and forward at the Women’s Rugby World Cup (02:08) and how the lack of competitive matches may be dulling the appetite and ...

The Tokyo World Athletics Championships kick off on September 13, and while the team are not there in presence, we will be bringing you recaps, insights and analysis through the 8 days of action. In this Preview show, we are joined by Guardian Chief Sports Writer, Sean Ingle, for a look ahead at the week of athletics. We discuss the placement of these World Championships in the calendar, and why it may backfire for World Athletics ...