The Real Science of Sport Podcast
Should Doping Coaches Be Banned For Life? / Heat and Heart Rate / Tokyo Rivalries In Focus
21 Aug 2025
The conversation begins, continues, but rarely ends, on Discourse! As mentioned, you can become a member of our VIP community by donating a small monthly amount to show your support, and dive into sports science and opinion. We are also on YouTube now, for those who want to watch.Show notesIn today's spotlight, our Discourse Digest looks back at some remarkable track & field performances and how they set up enthralling races in the upcoming Tokyo World Championships. We talk Kipyegon, Tsegay, Chebet, Hodgkinson and Lyles. Tensions between the UCI and cycling teams boiled over with a standoff around rider tracking the latest in the ongoing rider-safety struggles. We discuss how the failure of both sides to compromise and communicate is impacting rider risk.Risk conversations continue with news that World Boxing will follow athletics' example by screening for sex to protect the integrity of the women's boxing category and the safety of its fighters. Finally, instrumented mouthguards now have an LED light, and we discuss how many are only now becoming aware of this innovation and system for head impact management in Rugby Union.In Centre Stage (48:17) we turn our attention to doping. Gabby Thomas has called for lifetime bans for coaches whose athletes dope. We explain why it's not quite that simple, legally and philosophically. It's all part of the complexity of the anti-doping landscape, which we explore further with examples of recent doping cases and claims about who bears fault, when bans begin and which performances are tainted.Listener Lens (1:01:58) involves discussion about heart rate as a guide to training intensity on hot days. Ross explains that we can measure, but not manage our training while our physiology does the necessary in the heat. That becomes a conversation about Zone 2 training in Ross Replies (1:09:47), as listener Niall shares questions about how to incorporate this training intensity into his journey towards fitness and performance.And finally (1:13:16), Josh asks who you'd put on your Mount Rushmore of athletes? An impossible question, but Gareth and Ross share their thoughts, raising some eyebrows with picks and how they value sporting icons and their legacies.LinksVaughters interview about safety in cycling and the UCI standoffWorld Boxing sex screening articleListener Lens on HR in the heat - Discourse members onlyZone 2 thoughts - the mega thread from our listeners - Discourse onlyMount Rushmore of sport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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