The Real Science of Sport Podcast
Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch
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🚨 SOS: It WAS Too Good To Be True: Marathon World Record Holder Chepng'etich Provisionally Suspended
Join Discourse - a small monthly pledge gives you access to the best sports science and sports insight community on the interwebs (yes, we are biased). Pledge here and join the conversation! In this emergency bonus episode, Ross reacts to the bombshell news: Kenya's Ruth Chepng’etich, who stunned the world with her record-breaking marathon in Chicago last year, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after testing positive for a banned diuretic in March. The performance shocked the running community at the time — questions and doubts sparked a parliamentary inquiry in Kenya after a journalist’s pointed question at the press conference. We even released a podcast titled “Too Good To Be True?” analyzing the run. Now, that skepticism feels vindicated. Ross breaks down why the doubts were justified despite the usual defenses ("she's always been talented", "she worked hard"). He explains what a diuretic does, why this kind of doping bust leaves him cold and underwhelmed, and how it fits a familiar pattern in elite sport. We also explore the shadowy roles of agents and coaches — and ask why it's always the athlete left holding the bag? Finally, Ross reflects on the cycle of hope, hype, and heartbreak that defines modern sport — from the marathon course to the Tour de France, can we trust what we see? Why should we, when the characters and incentives remain the same? Same script, different stage. Links The AIU statement on Chepng'etich's provisional suspensionThe timeline as posted by Chris Chavez on XOur podcast on the performance at the time - we were highly, highly skepticalThe Discourse thread at the time of that performance - members onlyThe Discourse thread that is growing now, out of the announcement last night - members only Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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