The Real Science of Sport Podcast

Love the show? Becoming a Supporter unlocks a weekly bonus Applied episode, ad-free listening, and our Discourse forum where you can engage with us directly. All for the price of a coffee, once a month, so become a member now! Show notes Most of us watch football and follow the ball. Football journalist Michael Cox watches the spaces, the shapes and the patterns that few others understand. As we b...

Not a Supporter yet? For the price of a coffee a month you get ad-free shows, a weekly Applied Science show, access to our Discourse and Discord communities, and participation in our listener research studies — join the Real Science of Sport here. Show notes In this week's Spotlight, Ross and Gareth take on the news: (00:02:00) Football World Cup: England survived altitude and Mexico, and Ross's n...

Love the show? Become a Member and get a weekly bonus episode, ad-free listening, our VIP community, and a real say in what we discuss! Show notes Formula 1 is one sport we've never properly tackled, so who better to guide us through it than a man who spent 25 years on the inside? Dom Riefstahl is a mechanical engineer who went straight from graduation into BMW's F1 programme, later moving to the...

Become a member of The Real Science of Sport Podcast , and join our community, get ad-free shows, exclusive episodes, and a world of discussion on topics just like this! Click here for all the Member Benefits. Show notes A bonus hype show ahead of Sunday's World Cup round of 16 between Mexico and England, where altitude has become the story everyone is talking about. Sparked by Thomas Tuchel's lam...

Become a member of the Real Science of Sport ! You get ad-free shows, a member exclusive show every week, access to our communities and post-pod discussions, plus the chance to participate in our unique research studies. There's more too - click here to see all the benefits , and a small monthly pledge is all it takes! Oh, and play our Tour de France Fantasy League - we have one special rule - no...

From muscle growth to a treatment for Alzheimers, creatine has been touted as the 'King of Supplements'. But what does the science say about one of the most researched products in sport? Enter Dr Eric S. Rawson, Chair and Professor of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who has spent two decades studying the effects of creatine on the brain...

British football journalist Ben Lyttleton literally wrote the book on football penalties. As the author of ' Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty' and 'Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football' , Lyttleton is arguably the world's leading authority on the subject. His encyclopedia-like and passionate knowledge of both the game of football and the controversial penalty, mak...

Become part of the Science of Sport Community, and take part in our global durability trial, plus get our free show, ad-free listening, and our world class forums! A small monthly donation is all it takes! This week's Spotlight focuses on the doping case of Marketa Vondrousova's four year ban for refusing to provide a sample during an out of competition test in 2025. We also return to the USA for...

Become a Supporter, and get ad free podcasts, your exclusive Applied science show every week, and access to our listener community, with all its insights and opinions Show notes The Football World Cup is underway, and hydration breaks have been one of the early storylines . We discuss whether they are a genuine player welfare initiative, or a (very) thinly veiled advertising slot, whether there wi...

Become a supporter of The Real Science of Sport, and get ad free shows, exclusive Applied Science shows, and access to our Forums and chat rooms. Plus, you can join our growing Zwift racing community and take on Gareth and Ross in a weekly TT! A monthly pledge is all it takes! In this show: Switzerland's Audrey Werro delivered a stunning plot twist in the women's 800m, running the third fastest ti...

Join The Real Science of Sport Supporters club for ad-free listening and our exclusive weekly Applied Science show ! A monthly donation is all takes! This week's Spotlight opens in Paris, where Roland Garros has delivered one of the most chaotic and compelling Grand Slams in recent memory, and ends on a Las Vegas track with a promise of $10 million unlikely to be fulfilled. Along the way, we explo...

Get ad-free listening and exclusive shows by becoming a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport! In our Spotlight this week: The h eat wave in Paris is making life very difficult at Roland Garros, with Casper Ruud describing himself as "walking around like a zombie" during his first round match. We explore the physiology of heat regulation in tennis, how safety policies are developed to protect pla...

Become a member of our Enhanced Real Science of Sport community by becoming a member to get access to exclusive shows, ad-free content and our world class discussion forums. A monthly pledge is all it takes and you'll unlock all those benefits Show notes The Enhanced Games came and went in Las Vegas, amidst much hype, a host of personal bests but only a single world record. Was the event a success...

Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport , and as mentioned, get a bonus episode of Applied Science every week, access to our world class forums, and (we hope) ad-free listening soon! Show notes On the decks today: A new paper raises "substantial concerns" about the tool that is regularly used to diagnose a progressive neurodegenerative disease in contact sport athletes . We discuss the paper, a...

Become a Supporter and share your views - a monthly pledge gets you access to the Community , and our endless appreciation! Show notes In the news this week: Operation Obsidian - A c ollaborative investigation between WADA and World Rugby produces a big doping bust in Georgian rugby , revealing collusion and corruption, but to what end? We explain how almost 40 years of bans were given out, and wh...

Join Discourse - our Supporters club is awesome, and it's yours for the price of a coffee every month. Or a gel. Become a supporte r and get twice the value after the show, and a chance to influence it too! Show notes In today's Spotlight, a spin around the world of sports news, and some listener questions answered: A look back at the World Relay Championships from Botswana, featuring some of the...

How reliable is Artificial Intelligence (AI) when it comes to health, wellness and training advice? Writer, educator and Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Dr Nick Tiller, recently led a research study entitled " Generative artificial intelligence-driven chatbots and medical misinformation: an accuracy, referencing and readability audit. " which focused on the feedback and information...

Support The Real Science of Sport - if you love what we do, and if you want to be part of the community and share views that will add even more insight to sport, a small monthly pledge is all it takes! Show notes Sebastian Sawe's astonishing 1:59:30 marathon world record is in the spotlight today, as Gareth and Ross go deep into the physiology, technology and history of running to explore every an...

English sports psychologist Dr Josie Perry delves into the mental challenges that often hold sportspeople back from success. From the role of our own mental threats to the traits that are present in successful athletes. Perry offers a fascinating insight into the psychology of performance. The team also delve into the prevalence of ADHD in top-performing sportspeople, why mental toughness may not...

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe has absolutely obliterated the two hour marathon barrier, winning the London Marathon in 1:59:30. In this emergency podcast, Mike and Ross talk about a truly historic day that saw two men go under two hours, We discuss a performance that is astonishing not only for the final time, but the matter in which it was constructed, with never seen before splits over 5km, 10km and ha...

Become a Science of Sport Supporter and show your appreciation for the pod, while also having your say and correcting Gareth and Ross' errors! A small monthly donation is all it takes! Show Notes The Spotlight today is heavily focused on an historically fast Boston Marathon, which saw an incredible 2:01:52 for defending champion John Korir. It obliterated the course record, with the podium all goi...

Don't spend millions on a podcast, like AI did recently. Rather spend the price of a coffee and become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport. Click the link, make a monthly pledge , and get access to the conversations that happen before and after the podcasts! Show notes This week, we kick off in Roubaix, where Wout van Aert and Franziska Koch won the prestigious cobbled Monuments. For van Aert...

Norway is one of the most advanced sporting nations in the world, thanks to a unique structure which allows athletes to access the latest science and coaching. The team speak to Oyvind Sandbakk, the Sports Director at the Norwegian School of Elite Sports and a Professor at the School of Sport Science at the UiT The Arctic University of Norway. A former World Cup cross-country skier himself, Oyvind...

Become a Science of Sport Supporter by making a small monthly pledge . You'll show your support, help us stay "athletic-greens-free", and get access to our world-class discussion forums In this Spotlight, we start on the cobbled roads of Belgium to explore why riding on cobbles is so hard, and how not so good vibrations compromise mechanical power, cost more energy and require more exertion to pro...

Support the Science of Sport - become a supporter, show your support, keep us ad free, and you get access to the best sports science community around! Show Notes In this Spotlight, we kick off with cycling, and wonder whether we're seeing a tactical evolution in cycling in response to long-range attacks. We also talk about Group 2 syndrome, and why elite cyclists could be a behavioural economist's...