Stay ConnectedThe Clean Sport Collective is a community of powerful voices comprised of athletes, brands, events, clubs, fans and the public to support the pursuit of clean sport and athletics through the absence of performance enhancing drugs.
With this podcast, we will celebrate clean athletes, educate you on issues in the world of clean sport, and bring hope that we can all believe in the power of fair play across all sports.
Copyright: © Clean Sport Collective 2019
With this episode, we welcome back Travis Tygart to the show. Travis is the CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency and was our very first guest to join the podcast in episode #1.
In this episode, Kara and Chris chat with Travis on the latest in clean sport news including the impact of the pandemic and the delayed Olympics on anti-doping efforts in the US and around the world. Travis talks about the initial impact of the stay-at-home orders on USADA in March and the details behind Project Believe, a program to experiment with virtual testing during this time which could change the future of drug testing.
We dig into the whereabouts filing system, how it works, and whether or not Travis believes there is a rise in those cases and suspensions in the last 12 months. Travis also provides details on the Rodchenkov Act and its progress in Congress, plus what it means to criminalize doping in the United States. Finally, we discuss the recent threats by the US Congress and the White House to defund the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) including USADA's perspective and the potential impact of such a decision.
We are excited to have Travis back on the show and couldn't be more appreciative of his support of the podcast over the last 13 months.
You might know Sanya Richards-Ross as an athlete, but do you know Sanya Richards-Ross as a person?
When it comes to the 400 meters, Sanya Richards-Ross is one of the greatest of all-time. She has 14 global championship medals including 10 golds. She's a world and Olympic champion. She's run under 50 seconds a record 49 times and still owns the US national record of 48.70 from 2006. It is fascinating to dig into what made her so great on the track, but perhaps more fascinating is what made her want to do it clean and do it with integrity.
In this interview, Kara and Chris dig into both with Sanya. We discuss growing up in Jamaica where she fell in love with running at a very early age. We learn about her influences from her parents, who guided her closely throughout her career, to her coaches and to her idols like Jackie Joyner-Kersee. We talk about her faith and what drove her to want to be great and to do it the right way, while also enduring physical, mental, and emotional hardships throughout her career.
Sanya shares her perspective on doping, the whereabouts filing system, and how she didn't even take vitamins during her career in order to avoid any potential supplement contamination. We also ask about life off the track, which is now as busy as ever as she juggles her family life with a young son, multiple business opportunities, writing books and broadcasting, and setting an example for Black moms through her blog site mommination.com.
Finally, Sanya provides her thoughts on what she wants for the future for her son and for other young athletes that might follow in her footsteps. Sanya is certainly an amazing athlete, but she is an even better human and we are excited to share our conversation with her.
Christian Taylor is a name you need to know. He's one of the most dominant athletes in his discipline – the triple jump. He's won 6 of the last 7 global outdoor championships dating back to 2011 including 2 Olympic and 4 World Championship gold medals. He is President of the recently formed Athletics Association, an athlete's union created to advocate for athlete-centered change in the sport. And, he is an outspoken advocate for clean sport.
In this wide-ranging interview, Kara and Chris begin by discussing Christian's childhood growing up as a multi-sport athlete where he played soccer, football, and golf before initially turning to run cross country as a way to stay in shape for soccer. Christian laughs as he describes those early cross country meets where he would use his sprint skills to lead for the first 400m meters of the race before falling back as the finish line approached. Those experiences "sucking wind" on longer courses would eventually lead him to the track where he could use his speed instead. In high school, he became a dominant force in the long jump, triple jump, and 400m dash before winning a World Youth Championship at 17 years old.
Christian discusses his success in high school and how that led him to the University of Florida where he won 3 NCAA titles and dominated the triple jump along with teammates and rivals Omar Craddock and Will Claye. Christian talks about his first World Championship gold medal at the age of 21 and how words of inspiration from his idol during the meet helped propel him to a huge personal best jump and first senior outdoor title. He gives his keys to success over the last 9 years including what it took to change lead legs for his jumps to protect his knee, a process he equates to changing your dominant writing hand. He is now the only athlete to win two Olympic gold medals while jumping with different lead legs.
Then, we turn to his advocacy for clean sport and athlete rights including why he is passionate about both and what he hopes to accomplish as President of the Athletics Association. We discuss his experience with the whereabouts filing system including how many missed tests he's had in the last nine years and why he places responsibility on the athlete and agent for any issue with missed tests. Finally, Christian shares his perspective growing up as a black man in the US including how recent events have affected him and what he hopes to see happen next.
Christian is an amazing ambassador for our sport. He brings so much joy and hope to this interview. We know you will be a fan of his and the triple jump after you listen!
Matt Taylor grew up in the industrial city of Pittsburgh, PA with a family history in the steel and coal industries. As that city (and its industries evolved), his father lost his job with a steel company. His dad's career struggles and then watching his mom start a store of her own planted a seed for Matt that he wanted to eventually pursue entrepreneurship as well.
Meanwhile, he played basketball and ran track and cross country growing up which began a connection to sport that he would eventually carry with him to Yale and then well beyond into his career.
In this conversation with Shanna and Chris, Matt shares his journey from playing basketball and running track as a kid to founding Tracksmith in 2014. He tells the story of the handwritten and hand-delivered letter that got him his first career break at IMG. He talks about what he learned about product, branding, and the opportunities in the running world while working with Usain Bolt at Puma.
He gives us the inside story on the beginnings of Tracksmith, well before he had a name for it. Then, he shares how and why Tracksmith approaches building the sport the way it does, including its grassroots effort to put kits on over 130 athletes at this year's Olympic Marathon Trials. Finally, Matt talks about what it means for a brand like Tracksmith to support clean sport while he calls out the biggest founder and brand in running for not doing more.
The importance of brand allies in the fight for #cleansport cannot be stressed enough. We thank Tracksmith for being one of those allies, and we encourage you as listeners to support them and other brands who have signed the clean sport pledge.
Imagine missing the Olympic team by .14 seconds in 2008 after working so hard to return from having twins and becoming a mom the first time. Then four years later, imagine nearly tearing your hamstring off the bone just a few months before the Olympic Trials, putting your shot at redemption in doubt. Imagine traveling to Germany away from your kids to see a special doctor and working so hard every day in rehab just to make it to the Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the team. Imagine the relief of making that team, the additional month of painful, hard work to try to get to 100%, and then imagine earning a silver medal in front of a packed Olympic stadium in London.
Now, imagine being so fiercely competitive and believing so firmly that you were the best that you viewed that medal as a disappointment because it wasn't gold. Imagine 8 years later in 2020 that you wait in limbo as a court of arbitration is set to determine whether or not the woman that beat you that day was a doper. Imagine the victory lap not run, the US anthem not played, and the lost moment of glory that you could have shared with your twins who were there that day. Imagine the lost bonus and future earnings that would have been associated with being an Olympic gold medalist. And imagine all of the private moments of mental anguish as you beat yourself up and second-guessed every step in a race that you lost by .07 seconds. Imagine not knowing if you were just great or truly the very best in the world that day.
There is one person who doesn't have to imagine it because she lived it, and that's 400m hurdler Lashinda Demus. In this episode with Kara and Shanna, you will hear about it all and also learn that that this story only scratches the surface of the strong and fascinating woman that Lashinda is. She is a world junior champion, a world champion, officially-for-now an Olympic silver medalist, a mom of 4 boys, a clean sport advocate, and a badass on and off the track that we promise will inspire you. We are very honored and proud to introduce you to Lashinda Demus.
Many remember Gary Hall, Jr as the 10-time Olympic medalist (five gold, three silver, two bronze) who dominated in the 50 and 100m freestyle for 3 Olympics. Or, they remember his bold antics on the pool deck from wearing a boxing robe and shorts to line up behind the blocks to talking trash with the Australians in advance of the 4 x 100m freestyle relay in Sydney in 2000.
But, do you know the Gary Hall, Jr who twice left renowned swim coaches to take a different path because he knew his body needed something different than the traditional approach at the time? Do you know the Gary Hall, Jr who is the Type 1 diabetic who learned to compete at the highest level with the disease even though doctors initially told him it would end his career? Or, do you know the Gary Hall, Jr who was so outspoken about doping during his career that he was sued by a fellow swimmer after speaking out about her association with the BALCO scandal?
In this episode, Kara and Chris interview Gary and get to it all. We discuss his early years in sport, where in spite of having an Olympic swimmer as a father and uncle (and grandfather who was a collegiate champion), he stayed away from the sport initially opting to play baseball, soccer, and basketball instead.
Once he became a swimmer, he began training heavily pretty quickly but struggled early on until he found his home in the sprint events. He talks about his meteoric rise in the sport to make an Olympic team in 1996 in Atlanta at 21 where he finished second in the 50 and 100m freestyle to Russian Alexander Popov. We ask him if the recent Russian doping scandals make him rethink his experience in those Olympics. From there, we shift to discuss his longevity in the sport as a clean athlete who excelled in 3 Olympics and what made him so outspoken on the topic of clean sport when no one else was talking about it in the early to mid 2000s.
As we conclude, Gary provides some really interesting insight on the regulation of speed suits in swimming, the indirect complicity of drug companies in doping scandals, and why private investigators need to be a more pervasive tool in the fight for clean sport. With Gary, it is clear that what you see and hear is what you get. He gave us his unvarnished perspective on every single question, and it's an honor for us to elevate his voice.
In this episode, we learn the fascinating back story of how Aisha Praught Leer became a Commonwealth Games champion in the steeplechase, while also evolving into an outspoken champion for #cleansport.
Aisha grew up in Illinois where she competed in a variety of sports but developed an initial focus in competitive cheerleading. In a twist of fate, cheerleading politics led her to quit that sport and turn her attention to the track where she found her niche in the mile before later adding the steeplechase while in college at Illinois State University. At Illinois State, she finished 2nd in the indoor mile in her senior year which would pave the way for her to turn pro and join the Oregon Track Club, where she made both World Championship and Olympic teams in 2015 and 2016, competing for Jamaica.
Later, she would move to Boulder to be coached by Joe Bosshard and train with steeplechase World Champion Emma Coburn (and others). After a disappointing 2017 World Championships, she came back strong in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games in the race of her life where she earned a gold medal in the steeplechase with a come-from-behind victory over Kenyan Celliphine Cesspol.
In this interview, Kara and Chris discuss it all with Aisha including how she came to compete for Jamaica, what it was like turning pro including the "baptism by fire" that was joining the Oregon Track Club, why she made the switch to train with Emma Coburn in Colorado, and what it's been like living in a two-athlete household with her husband and fellow pro runner Will Leer.
Finally, Aisha provides her perspective on clean sport by sharing her first exposure to other athletes doping and what has led to her be more outspoken on the topic. She talks about how cheaters change the dynamics of races and how the psychological impact of cheating goes well beyond the result for clean athletes. She calls for lifetime bans for dopers, and she gives crystal clear ideas on what can be done to build a better future. We know it's not easy to stand up and use your voice, but we can't thank Aisha enough for leading by example with both her actions and her words.
Betsy Andreu was there when Lance Armstrong first admitted to doping in a hospital room in Indianapolis while preparing for cancer treatment. She heard him rattle off the performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) that he used well before winning his first tour including EPO, HGH, cortisone, and steroids. She was shocked not just by this revelation but also by the lack of surprise exhibited by everyone else in the room including his coach, business associates, sponsors, and yes, her now-husband Frankie who was one of Lance's cycling teammates. That moment would change her life forever.
Growing up in Dearborn, Michigan, however, there was no way to know the path that would lead Betsy Andreu to become one of the most important truth teller's in the Lance Armstrong story. She came from humble beginnings growing up in a Slavic family there, but it gave her a foundation built on principle that has never wavered. She has always told the truth about what she heard and saw because it was the right thing to do.
In this interview, Kara and Shanna begin by understanding Betsy's background and history built on principle. Then, they discuss her relationship with Frankie including how it began and how it survived the revelations about Lance as well as Frankie's own EPO use. Betsy tells the story of the moment when she knew Frankie himself was using PEDs as he led a climb in the Tour de France in 1999, the year of Lance's first Tour victory. Plus, she discusses the aftermath and an argument with Frankie at Lance's victory party which would ultimately lead to Frankie leaving the team, effectively ending his cycling career.
Finally, Betsy discusses her journey as a truth teller including the reasons why she told the truth about what she heard in that hospital room and all of the very real personal pain and suffering she and Frankie have endured as a result of the backlash from Lance and his team. As a contributor to it, she also provides her perspective on part 1 of the Lance Armstrong 30 for 30 documentary on ESPN and what she is expecting from part 2.
Betsy Andreu might be an unlikely hero in this story, but she is a hero indeed. We need more like her who are willing to stand on principle and tell the truth no matter the circumstances.
It is easy to villify those who have made bad decisions. When someone is willing to tell the whole truth, show remorse, and help build a better future, however, then we believe their story should be told to perhaps prevent others from making the same choices. With that in mind, we bring you this interview with cycling whistleblower Floyd Landis.
Born and raised in the Mennonite community in southeastern Pennsylvania, Floyd started his career in cycling as a mountain biker. He had quick success there winning a junior national championship before switching to the roads where he turned pro in 1999.
After racing for the Mercury Cycling Team, he was noticed by one Lance Armstrong and joined the US Postal Service Team in 2002, where he served as a domestique for 3 of Lance's seven tour victories. It was also on the US Postal Team that he began experimenting with PEDs for the first time under the guidance of Dr. Michele Ferrari.
In 2005, Floyd joined Team Phonak and would become its team leader after teammate Tyler Hamilton was banned for a positive test at the 2004 Olympics. That led to a top 10 finish in the 2005 tour and the outright victory in 2006. 4 days later, Floyd had his own doping positive for synthetic testosterone which began a 4 year period of denial as he fought the allegations and subsequent suspension.
Finally in 2010, Floyd confessed and came clean about his own actions in what became one of the primary links in the chain to expose the truth about Lance Armstrong.
In this interview, Kara and Shanna question Floyd about it all with a primary focus on understanding what he thought and felt at every stage of his now-infamous journey into the dark side of the sport of cycling. He details the long process behind his own decision to cheat including the openness with which PEDs were discussed by insiders in the sport and what he felt when he put on that first testosterone patch.
He tells us what he was thinking on the top of the Tour de France podium and the anguish associated with the 4 year journey after that before he told the truth in 2010. Floyd also responds to one specific quote about him that airs in the ESPN 30 for 30 on Lance Armstrong to be released in two parts with part 1 on May 24th and part 2 on May 31st.
Plus, you hear why he ultimately told the truth and whether or not he is sorry for what he did. We want to thank Floyd for his openness and honesty. We believe sharing the truth behind his story matters, even though he chose the other path. His truth can make a difference for the future of clean sport.
In this episode, we dig into the story behind the stories as Shanna and Kara interview NY Times journalist Lindsay Crouse. In 2019, Lindsay helped break two of the biggest stories of the year, one with Alysia Montano and Allyson Felix on maternity rights for athletes and the other with Mary Cain on her abuse while training with Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project. Both stories drove critical conversations and paved the path for change in the areas of #dreammaternity and #fixgirlssports. Interestingly, breaking these stories is not Lindsay's main job at the NY Times, and at least one of these stories took nearly 6 years to tell.
In this episode, Shanna and Kara dig into Lindsay's circuitous journey to live her dream in working for the NY Times, while pursuing a parallel dream to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon. Lindsay talks about her childhood aspirations to attend Harvard even though no one from her town in Rhode Island ever had. She discusses her early running career and how she ultimately earned a spot at Harvard to both run and study for her future in journalism.
The path to the NY Times was far from straightforward, however, as Lindsay moved to New York City and had several other jobs before landing her NY Times opportunity. Even then, she had to rely on her own entrepreneurial spirit and instincts to find and tell these important stories, including an initial off-the-record conversation in 2014 with Shanna and Kara on her treatment by Nike during pregnancy.
Finally, Lindsay shares the painstaking and thoughtful work required to verify facts, confirm information from sources, frame the conversation, and ultimately to tell the stories in a way that will resonate with readers in order to provoke much-needed conversations. The work isn't easy, but Lindsay does it well and with integrity. We can't thank her enough for simply giving athletes a platform to tell the truth and to use their voices to drive change in our sport.
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