Stay ConnectedWorld-renowned sports scientist Professor Ross Tucker and veteran sports journalist Mike Finch break down the myths, practices and controversies from the world of sport. From athletics to rugby, soccer, cycling and more, the two delve into the most recent research, unearth lessons from the pros and host exclusive interviews with some of the world’s leading sporting experts. For those who love sport.
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Copyright: © Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch
Ross and Gareth look back on Day 3 action, which featured one of the great races of the Games - an all-time epic mountain bike duel. We also review the swimming golds, and round up the Paris news, from skateboarding the streets of Paris to surfing the corals of Tahiti.
On the decks in this episode:
Show notes
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Ross and Gareth look back on Day 2 in Paris, which was characterized by dominance for some, despair for others, and defeats by the tiniest of margins - milliseconds and magnifying glasses. We also tackle cupping, tell the truth about lactate and fatigue, and discuss a looming controversy about males in women's sport, thanks to the IOC's leadership. On the deck:
Show notes
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France overcame Fiji and the pressure of expectation to win the first team gold of the Paris Games, and much was owed to the influence of Antoine Dupont on the Semi-final and Final. Gareth and Ross talk about Dupont's impact on those games. We also briefly review the Cycling Time-Trials, narrowly won by Remco Evenepoel and dominantly won by Grace Brown, and the opening night of swimming where the 4 x 100m freestyle relays were split between the USA and Australia. Finally, we look ahead to Day 2 action, which includes strong favourites for more home gold in women's MTB, swimming and judo, and the first of the potential Chinese swimmer controversies.
Show notes:
Here's where you go to sign up for Patron, with a small monthly pledge, which then gives you access to the richness of the Discourse forum mentioned on the show
I got some of the details wrong when we discussed the underwater swimming speeds, but this is the story of the underwater swimmer and the rule change
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Let the Games Begin! The Paris 2024 Olympics get underway for real today, with the first gold medals being handed out. In this Paris 2024 special, Gareth and Ross look ahead to three of the major medals being contested on Day 1. They are the men's and women's Cycling Time-trials, where Remco Evenepoel attempts to carry Tour form, but not fatigue, into a matchup against Josh Tarling and Filippo Ganna, time-trial specialists who have specifically targeted Paris.
Second, we discuss the first night of swimming, which kicks off the USA vs Australia rivalry in the form of 4 x 100m Freestyle relays and a pair of 400m Freestyle finals. The latter will deliver one of the most anticipated matchups of the Games - only five women in history have broken four minutes in the 400m Freestyle, and four of them are expected to battle it out for gold in this race. We also talk pool technology, a shallower than normal pool, and how pacing is at a premium for swimmers at the Games.
Finally, on the medal billing, the men's 7s gold is also up for grabs in front of a packed Stade de France, where a frenetic and occasionally flustered France remain in the hunt in a competition that is wide open after the two pre-event favourites were knocked out in the quarter-finals. It leaves France to play SA, while defending champions Fiji face Australia in what has set the stage for a fabulously supported Olympic Games.
Then we are joined by James Austin, a three-time British Judo champion and 2012 Judo Olympian, who explains some of the fundamentals of Judo to us. We'll learn how the bout is won and lost, what it takes to be a champion, the tension between attack and defence, the Olympic programme, and some of his picks and highlights, all of which we hope enriches your Paris Olympics watching.
Show notes:
Here's where you go to sign up for Patron, with a small monthly pledge, which then gives you access to the richness of the Discourse forum mentioned on the show
Here's The Original Judo Podcast, run by our guest James Austin
The home page of the International Judo Federation
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Swiss MTB star, and fifth-place finisher at the 2022 World Championships, Marcel Guerrini offers unique insight into the races and the course ahead of the XCO mountain biking events at the Olympic Games. Guerrini suggests the men's race is more open than most think, that there is one athlete most likely to win the women's race and why tyre choice may make all the difference. The women's XCO event takes place on Sunday, July 28 and the men's on Monday, July 29.
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On the eve of the Paris Olympics, Kara Goucher joins Ross to put their minds to the fans' dilemma - how do we celebrate the performances we see from the best athletes in the world while we struggle to trust their credibility amidst perverse incentives, suspicious behaviours and an anti-doping system we know is far from effective? Goucher is uniquely positioned to offer insights on this question: an elite athlete who reached the podium in global track and marathon events, she not only saw behind the secretive curtain of doping, but lived it as an athlete in the Nike Oregon Project. She eventually became a whistleblower, before transitioning into a new phase of her sporting life - a commentator for NBC, where she now brings track and field performances to life. But how does she compartmentalise the conflicting emotions of doubt and joy to interpret and promote the best performances ever achieved by athletes? She explains her views, talks candidly about the challenges of being a whistleblower, and how athletes should respond to the mistrust and skepticism directed towards them. Finally, she picks her three best events to watch from Paris, and even offers a potential surprise winner of the men's 1500m gold medal.
Show notes:
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In this episode, Ross & Gareth shine the spotlight on The City of Light, where the Olympic Games begin today, with the Men's Football and Sevens preliminary matches kicking off 19 days of sporting action. After a brief look back at our personal Tour de France highlights and the results of our Discourse Fantasy League, we discuss our plans for a daily Science of Sport Jeux du Jour/Games of the Day show. In this show, we'll offer sports science insights on the medal action from the day/night before, and then preview the expected upcoming highlights of the next day. Gareth also shares his thoughts on the relevance of the Olympic Games. Finally, we invite you to share your expertise on the Olympics sports with our Science of Sport Discourse community, and even showcase just how much we need your input by pretending we know even the first thing about horse training and abuse controversies in the equestrian events!
Show notes
Become a Discourse member and join the conversation. Sign up with a donation here, at the Patron site, and get access to Discourse
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How relevant are the Olympic Games in the modern era and can they stand the test of time? Join Ross and Mike, along with top US sports journalist and author Jon Wertheim, as they look back on the lessons learnt in history, the economics, the legacy and the potential future of the Games. Wertheim is executive editor and senior writer for Sports Illustrated US, focussing on the tennis beat, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism.
In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honoured with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City.
Show notes
Join our Discourse community by becoming a Patron of the Podcast, and tap into the Olympic fever with like-minded fans. Once signed up, you'll have access to this Discourse page
Jon's book on the Glory days of 1984 can be found here
Here is an excerpt of the book, published in SI
If you're a tennis fan, you can follow Jon's Sports Illustrated Mailbag, here's one example
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In a recent article on the Escape Collective, claims were made that Tour de France cyclists are using carbon monoxide to enhance their performance. But is it really that big a deal or is there more to this story? Mike and Ross break down how carbon monoxide is used and potentially abused as cyclists looked for any means to get an advantage. The team also break down some the incredible numbers being pushed out by Tadej Pogacar at Le Tour and ask the question on everyone's lips: Can we believe it?
SHOW NOTES:
Carbon monoxide use:
The original Carbon monoxide article
A paper on how Hb Mass is related closely to VO2max
Some sources for power output estimates at the Tour de France:
The detailed analysis of the Plateau du Beille stage, and comparison against historical performances
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The spotlight falls on the most influential sports science research ever published. A recent paper produced a list of the 100 most influential sports science papers of the last 100 years. Gareth and Ross choose a handful of them, discussing what they found, what their authors didn't know at the time (and got wrong), and what it means today. We discover that the arc of sports science knowledge runs through all these studies, connecting people from AV Hill to Noakes, and themes including oxygen debt, lactate, altitude, pacing strategies, fatigue, and even the 2-hour marathon !
Show notes
Become a Patron here, and then join the discussion on on Discourse Community
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