The Tokyo 2025 Wrap: Winners, Losers and Lasting Memories / Womens' Rugby World Cup Final

Sep 24, 2025

Delve into the highs and lows of the Women's Rugby World Cup as predictions fly between England and Canada. Explore the intriguing world of athletes with DSDs and the controversies surrounding screening practices in women's sports. Celebrate standout performances from Tokyo, with highlights on rising stars like Beatrice Chebet and Jimmy Garcia. Discover why 400/800 meter doubles are becoming rare, and discuss the exciting unpredictability of marathon results. Plus, there's a fun chat about Harry Styles' impressive marathon run!

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ANECDOTE

Hocker's Dramatic Recovery To Gold

Gareth named Cole Hocker the best comeback for recovering from disqualification to win by a dramatic finish.
He described Hocker's surge from 12th to first over the final 350 meters.

INSIGHT

Marathon Finishes Delivered Peak Drama

Both men's marathons finished in thrilling sprint conclusions, producing rare drama and viewership.
Gareth called Simbu's win the best marathon finish he'd ever seen.

INSIGHT

Men's Eight Among Top Events

Ross and Gareth both flagged the men's eight and marathons as event highlights because of dramatic finishes.
The men's eight produced a memorable closing sequence and emotion-packed finish.

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Spotlights are our weekly show that wraps up the news and the topics that you, the listener, are discussing in our VIP Discourse community. To become a member, to join the conversation, learn from the best online sports science community, or simply to show your support for the pod, you can make a small monthly pledge at Patreon.

Show notes

The Spotlight is back! This week, our Discourse Digest kicks off the show with a look back on a hugely successful Rugby World Cup, and a look forward to the weekend's final between England and Canada. Ross picks England by ten, Gareth thinks Canada pull off a heist in the home of English Rugby. Who is your pick?

We also discuss an article by Sean Ingle, that revealed that between 50 and 60 athletes with DSDs had been identified by World Athletics since 2000. Ross explains how these athletes were identified, what they were required to do in order to compete, and why their number supports the introduction of screening of all athletes who enter women's sport.

In Center Stage (29:08) we look back at Tokyo's World Championships one last time. We nominate our best athletes, best performances, biggest surprises, best events, most impressive comebacks, and 'winners and losers' from a championships that we both scored very highly for entertainment and intrigue.

Ross Replies (1:00:26) remains focused on Tokyo, and a question from Neil about the rarity of 400m-800m doubles in elite athletics, and how the 800/1500m combination seems to have been replaced by a 1500m/5000m pairing. Ross discusses the physiological differences, with some fascinating insights on pacing strategies in 800m world records, a limit to how fast the second lap can be run, and how shoes and changes to qualification criteria may have tilted the balance in favour of the 1500m athletes against the track distance specialists.

And Finally (1:12:09), celebrities who run marathons end our show, with a recent impressive Berlin sub-3:00 performance the catalyst. We wonder who the most recognized name is in the world who has run a sub-3 marathon?

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