The Real Science of Sport Podcast

The Absa Cape Epic is a 700km, eight-stage, two-man team mountain bike race renowned as one of the toughest and most prestigious in the world. But what does it take to win this event against some of the world's best mountain bikers? We spoke to Mike Posthumus, the Head of Performance for the Specialised Factory Racing Off-road team, about the preparation, recovery, race tactics, and behind-the-sce...

THIS IS A REPUBLICATION OF THE SAME PODCAST AS THURSDAY 26 MARCH ON THE IOC FEMALE SPORT POLICY With apologies for confusion, after we published our most recent podcast on the IOC's new policy for women's sport, we realized the original file had an issue with the syncing of the two audio streams. That was fixed on the day, but the glitch has continued to affect some listeners, and so we are just r...

The International Olympic Committee, under its new President Kirsty Coventry, has announced new guidelines for eligibility in women's sport. The central decision is clear: the boundaries around women's sport will be protected, with no males — whether they identify as transgender or are athletes with specified differences of sex development (DSDs) — eligible to compete in the women's category. Wome...

Become a member, keep us ad free! Plus, you get access to our world-class community chat, and live sport chat groups. Become a supporter for a small monthly pledge at Patreon. Show notes Today the Spotlight falls on Therapeutic Use Exemptions, or TUEs, that are given to athletes when they have a medical condition that requires the use of an otherwise banned substance. Last week, the International...

Join our Science of Sport Supporters Club , and get all the perks mentioned on the show, including access to our listener community and their great questions and insights, and also our Live Sport chat, which resume this weekend with the Milan San Remo races. Make a monthly pledge to become a member ! In this Spotlight, we run our eye and offer our insights on the world of sport, covering a range o...

The conversation continues for our Supporters! These Spotlights offer the first word, and then it's your turn. Become a Supporter of the Real Science of Sport by making a small monthly pledge , and get access to our world-famous, and very stimulating, Discourse community! Show notes This week's show kicks off in London, where Ross recently attended World Rugby's Annual Shape of the Game meeting. h...

As mentioned, if you want to be a supporter of the podcast, and enjoy the insight that Gareth and I share with listeners on our world-best sports science forum, you can become a member by clicking this link to make a small monthly donation. Show notes The Milan Winter Olympics concluded last weekend, and in this wrap show, Gareth and Ross look back at the overachievers, the underachievers, and the...

Become a Supporter - it's worth it! Enjoying the Real Science of Sport? Show your support with a monthly pledge, become a Member of our Supporters Club, and get way more value from the discussions after the shows, in our world class community chat rooms! Show notes The Winter Olympics are a weekend from concluding, and so much has happened, it's been hard to keep up. But we try! In this show, we l...

If you love the podcast, and want to show your support, a monthly pledge on Patreon is the way ! We'd be absolutely stoked if you did! Show notes Lesley McKenna is a pioneer in the world of action sports. A three-time Olympian (2002, 2006, 2010), she represented Great Britain on the snowboarding World Cup circuit, becoming the first GB snowboarder to win a World Cup event, and led the World Cup st...

The conversation continues on Discourse, for our Science of Sport Supporters. Join now with a small monthly pledge for access to the best sports science discussion community around In the Spotlight this week, we revisit a recurring theme to explore whether a paper claiming no advantage for males who identify as women has any validity, and we cover some news from the world of sport and health. 17:3...

Become a Science of Sport Supporter, and get access to our Discourse chat community, and to our upcoming Real Science of Sport Live Chats . A small monthly pledge or donation on Patreon is all it takes The opening five days of the Milan Cortina Winter Games have produced some spectacular performances and notable talking points. The Spotlight reveals some insights on those performances. We ask whet...

Professor Florentina 'Fleur' Hettinga loves speed skating. Not only has she competed as an athlete in the discipline, but she has also researched many elements of the sport, from the physiology of the top athletes to the technical expertise and equipment needed to be among the best. Based in Amsterdam, Hettinga is at the centre of Dutch speed skating excellence, serving as Head of Department of Hu...

Show Notes On the Spotlight this week, we wrap up the Australian Open where dramatic semi finals saw Alcaraz overcome cramp (to Zverev's dismay), Djokovic overcome Sinner (to Ross' prediction dismay), and then Alcaraz overpower Djokovic to win a career Grand Slam. Elana Rybakina won the women's title, powered by a dominant serve and a few harsh, but helpful words from her coach. Then it's a concus...

Norwegian Oyvind Sandbakk is a specialist in the brutally tough world of cross-country skiing and biathlon. He is Sports Director at the Norwegian School of Elite Sports and a Professor II at the School of Sport Science at the UiT The Artic University of Norway. A former World Cup cross-country skier himself, Oyvind has worked with many of Norway's top athletes in Nordic sports. We delve into the...

Figure skating is one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics as it combines world-class athleticism with dance, choreography and music. Jackie Wong is one of the world's leading experts on figure skating and takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to be among the best in the world. From blade sharpening to music choice (the Back Street Boys will be the most popular band in Milan 202...

On the show, we mention our Supporters Club a lot, and reference discussions of various sports science subjects that inspire and inform our own conversations. You can be part of that, by making a monthly pledge here, which gives you access to the best sports science discussions on the interwebs! This week’s Spotlight opens in Melbourne, where brutal heat nearly derailed Jannik Sinner’s title defen...

Journalist, author, and speaker Alex Hutchinson is passionate in his search for truth. As the author of three books (' Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? , 2011; ' Endure', 2021 and 'The Explorers Gene' , 2025) and writer of the popular Sweat Science blog, the former Physics graduate is at the forefront of modern science journalism. Hutchinson, a former Canadian national team miler, explains hi...

Become a Supporter of the Real Science of Sport podcast - a small monthly donation via Patreon is how you do it, and then you'll get access to our listener community who share insights, advice, and opinions of their own, all of which make up shows like this one! In this Spotlight, Gareth and Ross get philosophical as they cast their eyes over a few topics, starting with Gareth's thoughts on 2026 a...

Join Mike, Ross and the chief sportswriter at The Guardian, Sean Ingle, as we look ahead to the biggest events in 2026. From the Winter Olympics to the World Cup in football, 2026 will be packed with plenty of drama and, no doubt, controversy. The team discusses the inclusion of new events at the Winter Games, how the three-country host format at the World Cup may affect results, whether the Commo...

There's a lot to catch up on today's Spotlight. Four weeks of Festive season sport means a range of topics from technology failures in the Ashes to the "Battle of the Sexes" debacle, thoughts on cyclo-cross dominance and excitement, Biathlon's appeal, Luke Littler's darts revolution, and some Enhanced Games ruminations as more athletes are announced. We also tease a few 2026 sports events, and hop...

As 2025 winds down, Gareth, Mike and Ross reunite to look back on a packed and fascinating year in sport and sports science in a bumper Year-end show! We pick through the highs and lows, heroes and villains, innovations and failures, revisiting the moments and stories that stood out — and those we’d rather forget. Along the way, we debate the best athletes, the greatest achievements, the biggest l...

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the body established to oversee drug testing and other integrity issues within the sport of athletics and road running around the world.. Established in 2017 in response to the deepening credibility crises within International Amateur Athletic Federation (now World Athletics) doping processes, the AIU is an independent body designed to oversee drug testing amo...

Become a Supporter of The Real Science of Sport by making a small monthly pledge , and you also get access to our world-class community of experts and enthusiasts. Plus you get to explain sports like F1 and Squash to Gareth and Ross! Show notes Today, we focus on three news pieces from last week that reminded us of other stories we covered during 2025. The first two concern weight loss and managem...

Join the Real Science of Sport Supporters club, and get access to the sports science community where at least one person (usually many more) knows the answer to every question you can possibly ask! Plus, engage on news, training, diet, and other sports science related topics with fellow listeners! A small monthly pledge makes you a Supporter , and the Science of Sport Community awaits! Show notes...

Join The Real Science of Sport Supporters Club by making a small monthly pledge at Patreon.com . Think of it as buying us a cup of coffee before you listen to us opine on sports news and science! Plus, get access to the best sports science conversations in the world! 07:35 - XC at the Winter Games? 17:40 - UK Athletics and the cost of FACT 22:35 - Mediocre Male Beats Strong Women 29:55 - Do Guardi...