The Real Science of Sport Podcast Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch

Over the past few years English schools have begun to introduce non-competitive sport in an effort to be more inclusive. But is that the right strategy when it comes to producing future champions and developing a 'winning' mentality? The team take an in-depth look into the evidence surrounding the debate and examples of countries that have already rolled out similar plans.
> Jump to 45:17 for the main topic.
PLUS RED-S in male athletes / Bicarb in endurance sport / shinty drug testing / Remembering Dick Fosbury, the inventor of modern high jumping.
SHOW NOTES:
Caught My Eye Segment
Jake Smith’s Instagram post about his RED-S
The 1984 study on bicarbonate as a performance enhancer
A 1993 meta-analysis on bicarbonate
A 2022 systematic review on bicarb and performance
A recent article that contains some of Maurten’s promises and promotions
Primoz Roglic’s glowing endorsement of bicarb. “With 600W it always hurts, huh?"
The BBC piece on Shinty’s drug testing plans
David Epstein’s article on Dick Fosbury
Main Segment
Article on how early specialisation and training rather than fun increases injury risk
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Christopher McDougal's latest book, Born To Run 2, revisits the barefoot and minimalist movement that upended the world of running over a decade ago when he published his first book Born To Run in 2009. But what does the latest research say and is running barefoot the key to running nirvana?
SHOW NOTES:
Sean Ingle’s report after UK Athletics announced a “non-policy” recognition of the trans women issue and were corrected by EHRC: 
The statement by the Equality and Human Rights commission
The Peter Bol doping story, as submitted by Patron Joshua Stacey
The Connor Benn doping clearance story, with much to be discussed and determined
The WADA study on clomiphene in eggs: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19440049.2021.1949497
The twitter thread that speculates about the use of biomechanics as a way to identify a doper
The article that is skeptical about barefoot running
Study on stiffness of tendons in cushioned vs minimalist runners
One of the reviews showing no injury risk difference between shod and barefoot runners
Study showing successful transition to barefoot running in 71% of runners with a 20 week transition programme
Nic Tam’s study on individual responses to barefoot running
Nic’s second paper on how individuals respond to a barefoot running programme
Nic’s third paper on the effect of fatigue on biomechanics when barefoot vs shod
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Author and motivator Richard Sutton talks about his experiences working with some of the world's best tennis players and within the Chinese Olympic structure. Sutton's unique insight makes for a fascinating discussion on what really motivates success and how it plays out at the top level of sport. Sutton recently released his third book 'Thrive: The Power of Resilience" where he draws on his experience to empower individual and business leaders.
SHOW NOTES:
Caught My Eye
Kara Goucher's tweet about Brody Buffington's banning for over-celebration
Article on Camille Herron's long run views, with some really interesting discussion on bone stress in response to training, as submitted by Patron Edward Price
Article mentioning Eilish McColgan’s rebound hypoglycaemia, submitted by Julia Littlefair and hopefully a topic for future exploration
Story on South African women's cricket player being left out of national team after failing fitness test, sent in by Graeme Smith as a Caught my Eye Topic.

Main Interview
Amazon link to the Richard Sutton's book
Richard Sutton's website
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Respected sports journalist and writer Clinton van der Berg talks about his journey writing his book 'Guns And Needles: A Journey into the heart of South Africa's sport's steroid and drug culture." Van der Berg shares how he managed to get sports people, accused and convicted of doping, to tell their story; how he found out about the shocking incidences of doping in school and junior sport and why both young and old are susceptible to the performance benefits of illegal supplements and drugs. It's a cautionary tale for amateurs and professionals alike no matter what country you come from.
Note: We are aware the sound on this one from Clinton is really poor. We had major connectivity problems over the recording and try as we might to correct it post-recording, we just couldn't. We are really sorry, it's hugely frustrating and does detract from the listen and the content. We can only apologize for it and commit to making sure it doesn't happen again in future.
SHOW NOTES

An article about the "sport" of powerslap, as discussed in the Caught my Eye segment If you've got the stomach, here are some examples of why slap fighting is so indefensibleBuy Clinton's book on Amazon here Get bonus content on Patreon
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From sudden death in exercise to risk factors, screening and heart health in sports, the team talk to Dr Jonathan Drezner, Director of the University of Washington's Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology and co-Chair of the UW Medicine Cardiovascular Wellness and Prevention Programme. He is Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Sports Medicine and serves as a team physician for the Seattle Seahawks, OL Reign, and UW Huskies.
Show notes:
Four second power output and performance improvements studyArticle on "exercise snacking" as discussed in the podcastPrevalence of Inflammatory Heart Disease Among Professional Athletes With Prior COVID-19 Infection Who Received Systematic Return-to-Play Cardiac ScreeningPrevalence of Clinical and Subclinical Myocarditis in Competitive Athletes With Recent SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results From the Big Ten COVID-19 Cardiac RegistryA meta-analysis of myocarditis in athletes recovering from Covid 19Really good epidemiologist article on Covid and sudden deaths Get bonus content on Patreon
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England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) recently announced a new tackle law which could have far-reaching ramifications for the safety of the game and, potentially, the style of play. The radical change, due to be instituted in the amateur game on July 1, 2023, has met with controversy but will it really put an end to rugby concussions?
SHOW NOTES
Prof Ross Tucker's view on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/posts/lowering-legal-77489775
BBC story on Nigel Owens' reaction to the tackle law
https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/64365045#:~:text=Former%20international%20referee%20Nigel%20Owens,from%20the%20Premiership%20and%20Championship.
The Guardian story on the new laws
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/20/rugbys-authorities-hit-a-new-low-with-unworkable-change-to-tackle-rules
The article we discuss with Jordan’s soundbite in Caught my Eye: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2023.2171907?journalCode=tejs20
Two other pieces on the studies and the desire to lower tackle height, in the elite game: https://sportsscientists.com/2018/10/nudge-a-data-driven-attempt-at-reducing-concussion-risk-in-rugby-a-process-explained/?doing_wp_cron=1674539567.3949980735778808593750
https://sportsscientists.com/2019/08/protecting-the-rugby-players-head-the-paradox-of-tackler-height-and-head-injury/



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