Shownotes
This week on The Feist, the marathon world record holder gets slapped with a three-year ban. What's to be done about doping?
First, the women's sports highlights this week & what we're watching:
- How did we not realize it was the Gymnastic World Championships? The U.S. had its least medal haul since 2006 and a lot of big names were missing — but a world championship is still a world championship.
- Swimming world records dropped in Toronto, including Katie Ledecky's 800m record and the first woman ever under 50 seconds in the 100m free.
- Four more years of the Tour de France Femmes! (Thanks, Zwift!) And the women finally get Mont Ventoux.
- And why did Kelly have weird stress dreams about running the New York Marathon this weekend? When she's definitely not running the New York Marathon this weekend.
Then, we have a voicemail from our Feisty correspondent with all the details about the Northern Super League playoffs.
And an interview with Mithali Das, who regionally coordinates the women's programs for USA Cricket — and is here to answer all of our Cricket World Cup questions: Why are games eight hours? How is the women's sport growing now? Who will win the semis and finals this week — and take home the massive prize purse?
Then, before the Feisty Picks of the Week, it's time for our in-the-weeds debate: How do we solve doping?
- Marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich is banned for three years after her positive test and some pretty incriminating texts.
- Meanwhile, pro triathlete Imogene Simmonds was cleared of any fault or negligence for her positive test. Yes, her sexual contamination explanation actually makes sense. Is the system working the way it's supposed to?
- And the New York Times article about the prevalence of doping and incentives in Kenya: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/world/africa/kenya-runners-doping.html
Timestamps
- 00:28 - The gymnastics world championships
- 10:26 - Swimming World Records and Four More Years of the Tour de France Femmes
- 25:45 - Feisty correspondent Maya breaks down the Northern Super League and why it's important for Canada
- 33:47 - The Rise of Women's Cricket: USA Cricket coordinator Mithali Das explains it to us
- 52:33 - The big doping news this week and what to do about the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs?
- 1:16:58 - Picks of the week
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Transcripts
Welcome to the Feist.
Speaker B:Your favorite sports with your feistiest friends.
Speaker B:Did I, did I do this to you again?
Speaker B:Did I just.
Speaker B:I wasn't reading off the script, Sarah.
Speaker B:I was just improvising.
Speaker A:It's usually me who's just like your favorite podcast.
Speaker B:All right, well, we're your feistiest friends.
Speaker B:I'm Kelly o'.
Speaker A:Meara.
Speaker B:I'm just moving on.
Speaker A:And I'm Sarah Gross.
Speaker B:And today we're gonna talk about anti doping.
Speaker B:I don't even know what people are gonna do in the future, but we, the world record holder in the marathon got a three year ban, so we are going to talk all about that first.
Speaker A:Wait, why don't you know what people are going to do in the future?
Speaker B:I don't even know how people are going to deal with this all, is what I'm saying.
Speaker B:I don't know how all the drugs, all the things you can get.
Speaker B:You mean that you.
Speaker A:All the testing like that the advancement of and performance enhancing products is, is so fast that you don't know how we're going to keep up?
Speaker A:Is that what you're saying?
Speaker B:I was, I was teasing.
Speaker A:I know you were teasing it, but stay tuned.
Speaker A:If I don't even understand the teaser, I feel like other folks would understand the teaser, maybe.
Speaker B:I mean.
Speaker B:Okay, so I guess I'm saying, like, obviously the way you keep up is you have super, super, super intense testing and everyone gets caught for any amount.
Speaker B:But then that also catches people who are not necessarily guilty because, like, there's also, like, contaminants in all of our supplements these days and, like, food and like.
Speaker B:So, like, which side do you err on?
Speaker B:Like, how do you battle both, like, let's be reasonable and common sense and like, logic and also the fact that, like, you can walk into any pharmacy and get.
Speaker A:Okay, so coming up on the show, this is the discussion.
Speaker B:We're gonna solve this problem.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Boom.
Speaker B:All right, but first, I was gonna say first, Sarah.
Speaker B:I turn on the TV and it was apparently the World Gymnastics Championships this weekend.
Speaker B:And how did I miss.
Speaker A:How did I miss this?
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker B:It turns out the answer is because Simone Biles was there.
Speaker B:Suni Lee wasn't there.
Speaker B:Rebecca Andre wasn't there.
Speaker B:Jordan Cha.
Speaker B:So there was like all the big names for the Olympics, like, clearly took the year off, which makes sense.
Speaker A:Oh, I see.
Speaker A:Post Olympic year, I bet this happens in a lot of sports with the post Olympic year, their World championship.
Speaker A:The next, over the next, however many months later, ends up a little bit Lower key.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't want to say, like, you're still a world champion, right?
Speaker B:You still beat everyone in the world.
Speaker B:But that's why I did not necessarily hear about it.
Speaker B:And also, the US Is in a rebuilding year.
Speaker A:Gymnastics wise.
Speaker B:Gymnastics wise, they got two medals, they got a silver in the all around from Leanne Wong, and they got a bronze in the vault from Jocelyn Robertson.
Speaker B:But that is not.
Speaker B:That's like.
Speaker B:I don't want to say worse, because worse sounds like a bad word.
Speaker B:That is the least good the U.S. has done at a world championship in, like, 20 years.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker B:So there's obviously, there's like some young up and comers that just now have to, like, develop over the next three year cycle here.
Speaker B:So in case you were wondering, the US Gymnastics powerhouse, though, that we are, has had a met, like a medalist on the podium in the all around, in the women's, like, every year for 28 years or something like that.
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:And so, wait, so Leon Wong kept that up, right?
Speaker B:Like, she got a silver in the all around.
Speaker B:Okay, so good.
Speaker B:Like, kept up our street.
Speaker A:We've got one.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:We have one tradition still going.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:In gymnastics.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So anyway, I did watch a little bit of that, though, and they're still, like, crazy.
Speaker B:Even though.
Speaker B:Even when it's not Simone Biles, like, it's still crazy.
Speaker A:I mean, gymnastics is just incredible.
Speaker A:No matter, you know, even if even the B team, even the people that I see at my local gymnastics, because I do gymnastics once, I was gonna.
Speaker B:Say, are you still taking gymnastics classes?
Speaker A:I do, I do.
Speaker A:I'm learning to do, like, a front flip, like, tuck.
Speaker A:And, you know, we do like, we practice, like, cartwheels and getting better at stuff like that.
Speaker A:I'm practicing my.
Speaker A:Working on my handstands and my muscle ups.
Speaker A:But, like, even things like that, like, honestly, it's just.
Speaker A:And then there's other people, of course, in the gym who have had a lifetime of gymnastics who can do these insane tumbling things that I can't even imagine.
Speaker A:And they're not even close to being Olympians.
Speaker A:So it really is one of the most impressive sports.
Speaker A:And one of those sports where I start to wonder, like, that deeply ingrained bias, like, around men's sports, like, how did sports like football, basketball, soccer, like, these things are very skilled also.
Speaker A:But, like, how.
Speaker A:How are they more skilled than gymnastics?
Speaker A:They're not.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like, why did those become the men's sports?
Speaker A:Gymnastics is way more interesting in.
Speaker A:In some ways.
Speaker A:Like, you could make that Argument.
Speaker A:I'm not like, I'm not sitting here ready to make that argument, but I'm just saying, like.
Speaker B:But you could if you wanted.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:It is funny though because like, to your point, like, I went to the figure skating National Championships one time and you're like, holy.
Speaker B:The per.
Speaker B:The person in like the second group, like doesn't even make the final group of six.
Speaker B:So it's like seventh best in the U.S. that's like, that's really, like, that's really good to be like the seventh best in the whole country.
Speaker B:And they don't look like, like you only ever see the Olympics, right?
Speaker B:Like, that person does not look in that tier.
Speaker B:Because then like the US is, it wasn't even like the best figure skaters at the time, you know, so there's still another tier above that.
Speaker B:To be like a medalist.
Speaker B:I was like, man, I don't feel like we appreciate that enough.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:Just like, man, honestly.
Speaker A:Yeah, like the skill, the secret skills that people have, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So gymnastics.
Speaker B:I watched some gymnastics.
Speaker B:What did you watch this weekend?
Speaker A:Well, sadly for this podcast, I only watched.
Speaker A:I only watched the World Series baseball, which is.
Speaker B:You watch men's baseball?
Speaker A:I watch men's baseball.
Speaker A:But honestly, like, I think every Canadian kind of had to in order to keep our passport, more or less.
Speaker A:So that was.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it's been a long time since I've watched a World Series.
Speaker A:My.
Speaker A:My grandmother, the one who lived to be 107, she was a massive baseball fan and taught me everything, you know, like the reason I understand the rules and whatever.
Speaker A:We've been to a baseball game before together.
Speaker A:Yeah, it had been a long time since I'd been to one when I went.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I was going to say your understanding of the rules was hit or miss.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, no, it comes back quickly though, when you start paying attention again.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And when you're explaining it to your Swiss, Scottish boyfriend.
Speaker A:But anyway, yeah, so we were sitting.
Speaker A:We went out for dinner actually and we're sitting in the restaurant and my partner's 12 year old son, we were about to leave and we had been watching the baseball in the restaurant because it was on everywhere.
Speaker A:Because Canada.
Speaker B:Because Canada.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:Cause the Toronto Blue Jays haven't been in, what had it been 28 years.
Speaker B:Or something since apparently you guys won one.
Speaker B:I didn't think you'd ever won it.
Speaker B:So you actually won two, I guess.
Speaker A:Yeah, I remember them winning again.
Speaker A:I don't remember what year or anything like that.
Speaker A:Anyway, so we're Watching the game and it was like the bottom of the sixth on Friday night game and we were about to leave the restaurant and my partner son was like, hey, the, you know, like the Blue Jays are hitting.
Speaker A:There's three people on base.
Speaker B:It's kind of a big deal.
Speaker A:And three people on base and zero outs.
Speaker A:We should probably stay right.
Speaker A:Like it was amazing.
Speaker A:And then it was like, then they went on to get like a grand slam and another hit with like another two hitter and so or two runner.
Speaker B:Double is what it's called double.
Speaker A:Anyway, it was like one of the most high.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:I think it's like the most high scoring inning in like World Series history or something.
Speaker A:So yeah, luckily we, we knew enough to say.
Speaker A:Actually we only stayed until like halfway through the amount of points that they got because we thought, we kind of thought, oh, we've seen it all.
Speaker A:And then we went home and we're like, oh, they got a whole bunch more runs.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker B:I don't understand people who leave games early.
Speaker C:Well, we didn't.
Speaker A:We were out for dinner.
Speaker A:We weren't like, we didn't go to watch.
Speaker A:We were like, let's watch the rest at home.
Speaker B:I don't understand people who leave games early.
Speaker B:If you're one of these people, you need to send us a voicemail because you paid for the ticket, man.
Speaker B:Like get all your money's worth of entertainment.
Speaker B:I don't get it.
Speaker A:Yeah, definitely, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm with you.
Speaker A:I was at a baseball game with some friends, I don't know the.
Speaker A:In the past year and they.
Speaker A:People were like leaving, like in the stands, people were leaving.
Speaker A:Once it was a foregone conclusion who was going to win, or once they felt it was a foregone conclusion, then people started to.
Speaker B:And I mean, I'm giving you.
Speaker B:I find baseball painfully boring.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And if there is a sport I would leave early.
Speaker B:It was probably that one.
Speaker B:But I still just don't get it.
Speaker A:Anyway.
Speaker B:Yeah, you miss and then you're gonna miss if there's something exciting at the end.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Or at the bottom of the sixth inning, either way.
Speaker B:So yeah, the other thing I saw from this weekend though, I didn't.
Speaker B:It was not fully on TV because swimming is not always on tv.
Speaker B:But I kept getting all these notifications about another world record in swimming.
Speaker B:Another world, like so many world records being broken in swimming.
Speaker B:I was like, what is going on?
Speaker B:And so then I tuned in and apparently it was like the last swimming World cup of the season.
Speaker B:They had a little like three meet series in October here.
Speaker B:And you got 10,000 after the World Championships last month.
Speaker B:And you got $10,000 for breaking world record.
Speaker B:And you got like $10,000 for winning all three.
Speaker B:So people were just like racking up the money.
Speaker B:Yeah, because There was like five world records.
Speaker B:The two big ones though, Sarah, somebody broke Katie Ledecky's 800 meter world record.
Speaker B:They swam 754.
Speaker B:Lanny Pallister.
Speaker B:754 is very fast.
Speaker B:Now this is short course yards.
Speaker B:This was in short course meters.
Speaker B:Meters, yes.
Speaker A:Toronto was the place to be for sports this weekend.
Speaker B:I know, wow.
Speaker B:Okay, so short course meters from 754.
Speaker B:And then Kate Douglas became the first woman to swim under 50 seconds for the hundred short course meters.
Speaker B:Again.
Speaker B:She spent 49.
Speaker B:Like, anyway, 49 seconds for 100 is insane.
Speaker A:That's insane for anyone.
Speaker B:This is what I was telling our, our like work group chat thing.
Speaker B:I was like one time I Swam like a 104 and I in yards and I almost passed out.
Speaker B:I had to like lay in the car for a while before I drove home.
Speaker A:A 104in yards.
Speaker A:Pretty good.
Speaker B:Yeah, but it's totally the same as.
Speaker A:A 49 second in meters.
Speaker A:Very similar.
Speaker A:Yes, very similar in that you both gave your extreme effort.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So kudos to all of the people that set world records, especially those two.
Speaker B:And then the other big news last week, I mean, big news in our universe.
Speaker B:Tour de France femmes.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Back with a new four year deal with Zwift, which is exciting.
Speaker A:We know, you know, we know from being slight, like adjacent to the know to the conversation about the Tour de France femme, the sponsorship conversation, that it was touch and go for a while about whether we were going to have Zwift back or whether they were going to be able to find enough sponsorship to continue on with the Tour de France femme.
Speaker A: u know, I think last year, so: Speaker A:This was this year.
Speaker A: No, sorry,: Speaker A:What year is it?
Speaker A:2025's event definitely seemed like there were more people paying attention.
Speaker A:Like it sort of seemed elevated.
Speaker A:So, you know, there was the first year, which was exciting.
Speaker A:And then I think people started to question, like, can we continue to do this?
Speaker A:And then we hit the third year, there was more excitement, it was growing.
Speaker A:And that's what then I think helped reinforce, like, okay, now we're committing to four more years.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so they announced the roots for men's and homes and femmes.
Speaker A:Homes, do you mean?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:And the women, it's they get to do.
Speaker B:Get to do what?
Speaker B:They put Mount Ventuin, which is the one that like everyone's been like, let them ride Mount Ventu.
Speaker B:So it's gonna be all decided.
Speaker A:Good choice on.
Speaker B:It'll be very exciting.
Speaker B:So that was quite the news last week.
Speaker B:I feel like our cycling co worker was like, well, I guess I know we'll all be for the next four years in the summer.
Speaker A:Yeah, I am excited that because Von 2, you know, when any.
Speaker A:Anyone who knows like the lore of cycling, right.
Speaker A:Like Vontu is definitely very in there with like the big well known climbs.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So it's good to see when you.
Speaker A:It's good to see the women being put into the women's tour for sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:There was a little video they put out that was like they had asked obviously all the writers like back in the like, what would you like to see?
Speaker B:And it was just like them all saying ventou mon ventu or whatever it's called in, you know, ventou.
Speaker A:You're close.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:No, there was one of them like the Dutch writer, they call it something else there anyway, but they all were saying, yeah, so it was very cute.
Speaker B:It was like, ah, let the women ride.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So yes.
Speaker B:So that was pretty exciting.
Speaker B:And I was also looking at.
Speaker B:There's so much happening right now.
Speaker B:I know we've been joking that like every, every week is World Championship week.
Speaker A:But also, but also, you know, you just literally it was like gymnastics World Championships.
Speaker A:World Championships.
Speaker A:So every week is World Championship Week.
Speaker B:Every World Championship week.
Speaker B:I was gonna say.
Speaker B:And then we have all this news and I was like.
Speaker B:And then I was like looking forward to this weekend because we're going to talk, we're going to hear about cricket.
Speaker B:World cup is happening.
Speaker B:Finals are this weekend.
Speaker B:We're about to hear about the Northern Super League playoffs start this weekend and the New York Marathon is this weekend.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:You're like, oh, have you run New York?
Speaker A:No, I've only done one, I think marathon, like standalone marathon.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've run like 30 something as part of Ironman Races.
Speaker A:But it was Paris, huh?
Speaker B:I did New York a few years ago.
Speaker B:It was kind of a mess.
Speaker B:It's kind of a mess.
Speaker B:But I weirdly had this dream like earlier this week.
Speaker B:I guess this, like this is.
Speaker B:We're recording some Monday so it must have been last week.
Speaker B:But leading up to the New York here where somehow in this dream I was working it, which isn't that weird.
Speaker B:And then someone was like, oh, do you want to run?
Speaker B:We can like, you.
Speaker B:We can get you a start.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, well, I'm never going to have this chance.
Speaker B:Even though we've established I'm not running, I haven't run longer than, like, 45 minutes.
Speaker B:Oh, this is like, oh, I have to.
Speaker B:In my dream, I was like, oh, I have to do this.
Speaker B:And then it was like, this whole, like, ordeal of me, like, I have to somehow do this.
Speaker B:And then I woke up, and I was like, why did I think that I've run it before?
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It wasn't a one.
Speaker B:Is it a lifetime?
Speaker A:How many marathons have you run, like, standalone, outside of Ironman?
Speaker B:Four or five.
Speaker B:But I've also not finished, like, half of them, which is.
Speaker A:Is its own half of the four or five.
Speaker A:So how many have you.
Speaker A:So you finished two?
Speaker A:One more than me.
Speaker B: So I finished New York in: Speaker B:It was right after I quit my old job, and things were kind of a shit show.
Speaker B:But we had deferred.
Speaker B:Anyone who knows this story knows, like, so my husband and I were supposed to run it.
Speaker B:He had brain surgery.
Speaker B:Instead.
Speaker B:We deferred.
Speaker B:Then the pandemic hit.
Speaker B:So we, like.
Speaker B:So they deferred us again.
Speaker B:So we finally.
Speaker B:It was like, okay, we're finally gonna run it, you know, three years, four years later.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, just.
Speaker B:It was not, you know.
Speaker B:You want, like, your fairy tale ending to that.
Speaker A:Yeah, but.
Speaker B:Doesn't work.
Speaker A:But you just ran kind of.
Speaker B:I just ran it, and it was, like, really hot, and I.
Speaker B:So, you know, like, when it gets really hot in marathons and everybody's, like, kind of delirious.
Speaker B:ALICIA Montano, the 800 meter, like, Olympic medalist?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I, like, run by her, and she's stumbling, and I'm stumbling around, and someone had, like, given me a bag of ice, some random spectator, and I'm like, here, take my ice.
Speaker B:And she's like, go on without me.
Speaker B:And that was, like.
Speaker B:I feel like, where we were at.
Speaker A:Okay, wait.
Speaker A:Alicia Montano was running the New York Marathon with you?
Speaker B:Well, I'm not.
Speaker B:Like, I just, like, passed her because she was running it with, like, the regular people as a 3:20 or whatever.
Speaker B:We were running, you know, three.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so I passed her, and she was also delirious, just like, me and everybody.
Speaker B:And there were people.
Speaker B:And she was, like, gone without me because we're like.
Speaker B:We ran together for, like, a couple minutes, but I just, like.
Speaker B:It was like, take my ice.
Speaker A:It's like, I might not make it.
Speaker A:You need to go on without me.
Speaker A:Save yourselves.
Speaker B:So it was one of those kinds of days.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker B:But people tell you it is massive if you've never done it.
Speaker B:It's like it's a whole thing.
Speaker B:It's a whole.
Speaker A:Like, it's hard to imagine 55, 000 people.
Speaker A:It's in one marathon.
Speaker A:That's so.
Speaker B:Last year, it set the record for the biggest marathon ever.
Speaker B:Finishers.
Speaker B:And it was like 55, 000 and something.
Speaker B:I should look up the right number.
Speaker B:55, 646.
Speaker B:But then it had, like.
Speaker B:Like a couple months before, like, London Marathon had been the biggest ever.
Speaker B:And then before that was like, Berlin had been.
Speaker B:So it's like every marathon was just getting bigger and bigger and bigger, which, like, can't go on forever, right?
Speaker B:Like, one would think.
Speaker A:One would think that.
Speaker A:No, it can't.
Speaker A:Um, I.
Speaker A:Do you think.
Speaker A:Does New York have different start points?
Speaker A:Like, the way that.
Speaker A:Is it Boston.
Speaker B:Boston does not have different start points.
Speaker B:Berlin, I believe, does.
Speaker B:And they merge.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So New York, they don't have different start.
Speaker B:Like, they all start.
Speaker B:You start from one side, but they do.
Speaker B:The roots do kind of, like, diverge.
Speaker B:I. I'm making hand motions, right.
Speaker B:For people who listen, for those who.
Speaker A:Don'T know what diverge means.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Kelly's.
Speaker B:But you're on, like, two different decks of this bridge, and then you kind of, like, go down parallel streets and you come back together.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But at the start, there's 55, 000 people on a start.
Speaker B:It's, like, all very corralled, which is why it's like.
Speaker B:It's a whole process.
Speaker B:You got to take, like, a bus out there.
Speaker B:There's different sections.
Speaker B:There's, like, corrals.
Speaker B:There's a whole, like, field of people just waiting around to start.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:It's something I talked a couple years ago, probably when I was going to run it to this guy who is the premier.
Speaker B:I don't know how to explain this.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But he, like, is one of the premier data scientists that measures crowds.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And crowd management and like, how.
Speaker B:So he works with the New York Marathon.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:To, like, help them manage how to get 55,000 people through a city and how to not have, like, pinch points.
Speaker B:And so now he also works with a lot of the other big races.
Speaker B:And so, like, how you stagger and start people is a big deal.
Speaker B:Like, you don't.
Speaker B:There was a phase where I think a lot of races were starting slower people in front to give them more time.
Speaker B:It's a terrible idea.
Speaker B:It doesn't work.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you, like, want to avoid, like, pinch points and, like, pacing.
Speaker B:And then he said one of the weird things since the pandemic, like, since the start of the pandemic is like, that now you have parklets and stuff.
Speaker B:And so the road narrows in, like, spots that didn't used to narrow.
Speaker B:And how do you manage crowds?
Speaker A:Yeah, interesting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because, you know, you can't.
Speaker A:There's probably no group less understanding than a bunch of trained marathon runners after a time goal who get, like, into, like, get pinched by crowds or who end up having to not run their pace for any reason at any point.
Speaker A:Like, I feel like this is something that for the general marathoner, you cannot get wrong.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think they actually, I mean, 4,55,000 people, they do, you know, a pretty good job.
Speaker B:So anyway, it's this weekend.
Speaker B:We'll see if they set a new record.
Speaker B:There are quite a few big names also is running.
Speaker B:She won her first New York.
Speaker B:She won Paris at the Olympics.
Speaker A:Yeah, we saw her.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you didn't.
Speaker A:You were gone.
Speaker A:Yeah, but we saw her.
Speaker B:So this is her first New York.
Speaker B:And then there's a whole bunch of Kenyans.
Speaker B:Helen o', Berry, who's on before.
Speaker B:Why am I losing?
Speaker B:Sharon Lochetti, then they've both been, like, up there, you know, up in the.
Speaker B:I'm making hand motions again in the.
Speaker B:In the podium.
Speaker A:I don't know what that means.
Speaker A:They're high up in the rankings of marathon runners.
Speaker B:Yes, I meant at New York.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, I mean, I feel like Safon's gonna win, but Helen o' Berry is very, very good.
Speaker B:She's one here.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And we have Sarah hall in there, too.
Speaker B:I was gonna say from a U.S. standpoint, like, Sarah hall is supposed to be running.
Speaker B:I feel like you never know for sure.
Speaker B:Emily Sisson, Kira De Meado, Amali Seidel is making her marathon return and we haven't seen her in, like, two years, like, since her.
Speaker B:Also, she got a.
Speaker B:The surprise bronze in Tokyo, and then she ran New York and did like a fastest ever, like, American debut type thing in New York.
Speaker B:And we haven't seen her since 23.
Speaker B:She's been, like, heard and dealing with stuff.
Speaker A:Did she, like, surprise qualify at.
Speaker A:In Atlanta at the U.S. no.
Speaker B:Fiona Okey.
Speaker A:Oh, that's who I'm thinking.
Speaker B:Surprise qualify.
Speaker B:And she's also going to be running New York, and we haven't really seen her since the trials because she was injured in Paris.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And she tried to run and then, like, dropped out, you know, 5K in or whatever.
Speaker A:Honestly, those trials.
Speaker A:So I was in Atlanta for those us.
Speaker A:For the US Marathon.
Speaker B:Oh, the Atlanta ones?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Not the ones this past.
Speaker A:The past one, but the before because they changed the way.
Speaker A:But there was nothing as amazing in endurance sport that I've ever seen as like 500 women in the same race who can all.
Speaker A:Who have.
Speaker A:All run under 245 to qualify.
Speaker A:Because there's just like hundreds and hundreds of women running past you fast.
Speaker A:Like faster than you see everyday women.
Speaker A:But there's.
Speaker A:It was just like the sheer quantity of them.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker B:You're right.
Speaker B:Molly Seidel was like the surprise at that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:I knew I recognized her name from somewhere, but yeah, that was.
Speaker B:Well then.
Speaker B:And winning the bronze medal.
Speaker A:There was that whole other bronze medal, that whole thing.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So that'll be interesting to see if she is like back in form because I think she was like, very obviously like the US's best marathon runner.
Speaker B:I mean, she was winning like medals at Olympics and being close to the top and, you know, the majors.
Speaker A:So maybe she'll surprise us again.
Speaker B:Maybe she'll be.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:Interestingly, this is random, but I was like listening to her.
Speaker B:She was talking about how she had wanted to do like a trail race.
Speaker B:Like she is, you know, wanted to do some different races, wasn't planning on.
Speaker B:And New York gave her a small stipe, like contract appearance fee, like much smaller than she got before.
Speaker B:And she figured like, why not?
Speaker B:So she's just doing it.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm sure she's still like trained, but you know that, you know, when you're like, you know, I'll just do this.
Speaker A:Not like you last week who was like, I've done a 45 minute run, maybe I'll do a full Iron Man.
Speaker A:But like, actually she's probably pretty decently trained.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:She's probably like, I don't know.
Speaker B:I'm only doing 100 mile weeks right now.
Speaker A:Right, Right.
Speaker A:I don't have time for a full taper.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, you know what my current question is, Sarah, we should put this before we go into Super League and Korea World Cup.
Speaker B:My current question is I have my lottery stones for utmb.
Speaker B:Everyone knows about this.
Speaker B:We talked about this a few episodes ago.
Speaker B:I have to put them in at the end of December for next year.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I can put them in for either the 100 mile or the 100k.
Speaker B:I had been like, of course I'm gonna do the 100 mile.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker B:If I'M gonna go there.
Speaker B:I'm gonna do the whole thing.
Speaker B:Life bucket list eventually.
Speaker B:However, I am still only up to running.
Speaker B:Jogging.
Speaker B:45 minutes.
Speaker A:Voice of reason is kicking in very early for you this time.
Speaker B:And I'm like, well, if it had.
Speaker B:If I was like, still the.
Speaker B:The slope was still going up on the training, I'd be like, yeah, I can get there.
Speaker B:But I, like, got sick and I crashed my mountain bike, and I have a bruised rib, and, like, you know, like, it's not.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:It's not accelerating quickly.
Speaker B:So there I've.
Speaker B:The votes are split because half the people are like, like you said, don't be ridiculous.
Speaker B:Do the shorter one.
Speaker B:And half the people are like, it's already 100k and you're going to be hiking mostly anyway.
Speaker B:What is like 12 more hours of hiking?
Speaker A:Votes are split.
Speaker A:So who's.
Speaker A:Who is voting on this?
Speaker A:On.
Speaker A:On what distance Kelly should do.
Speaker A:Do we need to.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker A:We need to open it up to our podcast listeners.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker B:So people should let us know what they.
Speaker A:I would like to know who's voted so far, like, Steve, your mom.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, Steve was actually like, he's on the camp of.
Speaker B:I should just do the 100.
Speaker B:I actually have had two different people who used to coach me vote, and they're split.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker B:They both said one or the.
Speaker B:They both said opposite things.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:I know who these people are.
Speaker B:No, you actually don't know all the people.
Speaker A:Oh, I don't.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker A:But, okay, I have.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So my vote would be for the 100k, but not.
Speaker A:Not for the reason of, like, don't be stupid.
Speaker A:Da, da, da.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But for the reason of.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:In years of knowing you, right, you've tended to, like, aim for, like, the furthest thing that you could possibly even be prepared for.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So there's part of me that's like, what happens if you do 100k, which is still a very, very long way, and try to prepare properly for that.
Speaker A:It's just a little bit.
Speaker B:It probably goes just, like, a little mediocrely better.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:So I've been split on this.
Speaker B:I've been up and down.
Speaker B:I have, like, two more months to decide.
Speaker A:We'll see how mediocrely better could be.
Speaker A:All the difference.
Speaker B:We actually go, well, you know, you're.
Speaker A:Actually a decent athlete.
Speaker B:So this is what everyone.
Speaker A:This is how everyone.
Speaker A:Pinching yourself so thin.
Speaker A:It's like, we don't get to see that come out because you're just like, oh well, I'll just run 100 miles next week like so.
Speaker B:Yeah, podcast votes can come in.
Speaker A:Okay, send us a voice memo about what distance Kelly should do at utmb.
Speaker A:Is it the Hunter K or the hundred miles?
Speaker B:We do have a voice memo from our colleague Maya about the Northern Super League.
Speaker B:So she's been going to a bunch of the games in Calgary kind of following it all season for Feisty.
Speaker B:And so we asked her to send us in a little like a voice memo of where things are at with playoffs starting this week.
Speaker C:Hey, it's Maya from Feisty checking in to let you know everything that's going on with the Northern Super League playoffs.
Speaker C:So for first of all, the regular season has ended and AFC Toronto won the regular season.
Speaker C:So they took home the first ever NSL Supporter Shield, finishing off the season with 51 points.
Speaker C:Following them we had the Ottawa Rapid with 39 points and the Vancouver Rise also with 39 points.
Speaker C:Tied for second and third in fourth place we had the Montreal Roses with 36 points and then Calgary Wild with 29 points points and the Halifax Tides with 16 points.
Speaker C:So the top four teams make it into the playoffs.
Speaker C:So Calgary and Halifax unfortunately did not make it in the inaugural season.
Speaker C:So what this means is that we're going to be seeing two semifinal matchups, first and fourth.
Speaker C:So AFC Toronto versus the Montreal Roses and then second versus third.
Speaker C:So the Ottawa Rapid versus the Vancouver Rise.
Speaker C:So how this will work is that there will be two games for each semi final.
Speaker C:So each team will get to play a game at home and each team team will get to play a game away.
Speaker C:These games will start on November 1st and end on November 9th.
Speaker C:And the way that this works is the total goals scored between both games will determine which team moves on to play in the final.
Speaker C:So we will add the scores between both games and the issue here is that there could still be a tie if both teams score the same amount of goals.
Speaker C:There has not been any clarification of what that tiebreaker will be.
Speaker C:But often in soccer it is either penalty kicks and overtime in the final game to decide a winner, or it will take the most goals scored by an away team in that series and the team with the most away goals scored will win.
Speaker C:Once those semifinals are done, the teams that win will play in the one game final, winner take all, on Saturday, November 15th in Toronto at BMO Field.
Speaker C:Whether or not Toronto makes it in, it's going to be that specific location and the winner of that game will get the inaugural Diana B. Matheson cup, which is the trophy named after the fantastic Canadian soccer player who started the Northern Super League.
Speaker C:Now who will win?
Speaker C:That is something we don't know the answer to.
Speaker C:Obviously.
Speaker C:AFC Toronto had a fantastic season coming out of the regular season with more than 10 points.
Speaker C:Points than the second place team.
Speaker C:But it's the playoffs, so anything can happen and we'll see who ends up taking home that trophy.
Speaker C:The league also released three of the annual player honors that they'll be giving away the Golden Boot for.
Speaker C:The top scorer went to Delaney Bay Pridham from Ottawa.
Speaker C:She had 18 goals on the season.
Speaker C:The assist leader was Esther Okoronkwo from Toronto who had seven assists throughout the season.
Speaker C:And then the NSL Golden Glove were the top goal goalkeeper award went to Morgan McCaslin from Vancouver who had nine clean sheets.
Speaker C:Don't forget to tune into the semifinal game starting November 1st and the final on November 15th to crown the inaugural Northern Super League winner.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Sarah, you also went to some of the Calgary games, right?
Speaker A:I did not.
Speaker A:I went to the launch game in.
Speaker A:In Vancouver, which was Calgary versus Vancouver.
Speaker B:Vancouver.
Speaker A:But yeah, I actually very much appreciate Maya giving us all the like, absolutely accurate details about how about how the play works and stuff like that.
Speaker A:I thought it was super interesting how now the playoffs are a total number of.
Speaker A:Because.
Speaker A:Because it's sort of like if they're playing two games, like they're each playing one game at each of the teams.
Speaker A:Like one.
Speaker A:The first team is playing the fourth, second, third, which is very common in like playoffs.
Speaker A:But then they're just each playing one game at each of the team's homes and then counting up the total number of goals and that's it.
Speaker A:Yeah, that was like, what?
Speaker A:So it's gonna be interesting to see how that plays out.
Speaker A:And then we're still uncertain about how the tie break's gonna work, which is like kind of.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So there's parts of me sometimes that I'm like, I get it.
Speaker B:Like women's sports, we don't have to do things the way men's sports did.
Speaker B:We can re.
Speaker B:But sometimes I'm like, we don't have to reinvent everything, Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Or we could have played three games.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:We could just.
Speaker B:We could just do some things the same, like playoffs.
Speaker A:But playoffs being an uneven number of games feels like pretty normal, like something that should be standardized.
Speaker A:But anyway, we'll see what we get out of that kind of shakeout.
Speaker A:And then the final game's being played in Toronto, regardless of what the teams are, so.
Speaker B:Right, right, right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:It is playoff season for nsl, for the NWSL athletes.
Speaker B:Unlimited volleyball is happening right now.
Speaker B:So there's a lot of like playoffs kind of the World Series.
Speaker B:Like we said, it's playoff season before we get into winter sports.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And Kelly, you did manage to find someone who knew about cricket more than us, which I'm.
Speaker A:Which I was very excited to hear.
Speaker A:Well done.
Speaker B:Because it is also Cricket World cup right now.
Speaker B:So as you are listening to this, on Wednesday is one of the semifinals because it's like really early our time in the morning.
Speaker B:Um, and then the other semi is on Thursday.
Speaker B:And then this weekend will be the final Sunday.
Speaker B:I need to double check that in India, which is like 2:00am here.
Speaker B:But it's okay.
Speaker B:Sarah, the games last like eight hours, right?
Speaker A:You can miss the first six hours.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And wake up, it's fine.
Speaker A:And then watch the ending, which presumably is the most exciting part.
Speaker B:Yeah, they.
Speaker B:It's Australia versus India and the semis and England for South Africa.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, we, we got a lovely.
Speaker B:What's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker B:Explainer from Mathali Das, who is the coordinator for the women's kind of pipeline and teams for US Cricket.
Speaker B:And US Cricket is still on the development trajectory.
Speaker B:Like they're still growing.
Speaker B:So she, she is like helping kind of build that.
Speaker B:And her daughter plays for the U19 team, which they're hoping kind of as the world.
Speaker B:So the Cricket World cup, we know that they've had a massive increase in prize money to 13 million this time.
Speaker B:They also are going to go up to 10 teams next world Cup.
Speaker B:So they're really trying.
Speaker B:And one of the ways you get into like the U19 World cup, which they launched a few cycles ago, is to have a women's pipeline.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:So they're really making an effort to kind of grow the women's side of the sport, which is great.
Speaker B:So Mithali told us all about it.
Speaker B:Mithali Das, the volunteer coordinator for USA Cricket for the women's teams in the southern region.
Speaker B:Tell us how you got involved with cricket.
Speaker B:What is it you like about cricket?
Speaker D:Yeah, so coming from a country originally, coming from a country where cricket is a religion, definitely, you know, was very passionate about watching it.
Speaker D:Didn't get a chance to play myself.
Speaker D:So when I migrated to this country and just have a daughter who was interested in playing the game, we started looking out and that's how I got involved with the USA cricket when they were Looking for some volunteer coordinators.
Speaker D: That was in the year: Speaker D:The international body is called ICC International Cricket Council and USA is one of the countries who are called an associate nation.
Speaker D:They're not a full nation.
Speaker D:So they're still growing, they're still in their infant stages.
Speaker D: And in: Speaker D:So that's how they made some regions.
Speaker D:I come from the south central region of the country, which is pretty much Texas and around.
Speaker D:And so I volunteered, passionate about the game, have a lot of knowledge about it and definitely wanted to contribute back to the society.
Speaker D:So that's how I got involved.
Speaker B:And how is cricket growing in the US and with women, are we seeing a lot of growth?
Speaker D:Yes, we are seeing.
Speaker D: we say that the first time in: Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:And we knew exactly who's going to come and who's going to be the player.
Speaker D: But since then like: Speaker D:We've had almost like 600 registrations, which was pretty big.
Speaker D:And we were like, how did that happen?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So defin.
Speaker D:Definitely it's, I would say it's the younger ones who are coming up.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:And when I say young, they're as young as 8 year olds.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So 8 year olds signing up and 9 year olds signing up and they want to be a, they want to grow, the grow and play at this age.
Speaker D:They do play, they do play with the boys.
Speaker D:They don't have single women's like girls teams.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:Underage say we have the under 10 teams, under 11, under 12, under 14 and the girls are playing along with the boys in the youth cricket.
Speaker D:Okay, so the youth cricket, we can see that.
Speaker D:Yes, youth cricket is really growing.
Speaker D:The boys are in big numbers and the girls are absolutely coming in there shoulder to shoulder and now they're part of the boys team.
Speaker D:So when you want to play for the women's pathway in the US you have to be 13 plus.
Speaker D:Mainly it's because of the safety rules.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So the cricket ball is a leather ball and it's pretty hard and you have to be equipped with all the safety equipment, gear and age group.
Speaker D:Cricket wise, thirteen plus has been the age group decided by the USA cricket body.
Speaker D:And that's how anybody who wants to play under the USA banner, starting from that Age group, they have to be 13 plus.
Speaker D:But before that they can definitely play.
Speaker B:They can play the youth cricket.
Speaker B:And you said, I mean the US didn't have a team right now in the current like Women's World Cup.
Speaker B:You said it's in its infancy stages.
Speaker B:Do we have like a women's team that competes internationally?
Speaker D:Yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker D:So USA Cricket has been involved for a while.
Speaker D:Definitely.
Speaker D:I would say the American born cricketers who have, who have an immigrant background.
Speaker D:So I would say the English Australians, English, South Africans.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker D:Indians, Pakistanis or if they come from the Caribbean Islands.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So they all have a history where their original country does play the game.
Speaker D:So those, those women have been around if they migrated here for education or for a job and they were already playing that sport.
Speaker D:That's how the team started when the first United States team was formed.
Speaker D:So there is a United States men's team, there's United States women's team.
Speaker D:And the good part is now that it's grown comparatively and they're competing internationally, they have gone to, I wouldn't say the senior women haven't gone to a World cup because they haven't qualified, but they have gone to the qualifier level.
Speaker D:So if you go, if you go for the Americas qualifying level, there are countries like Canada, there are countries like Argentina, Brazil, Bermuda.
Speaker D:So these countries compete amongst each other and then whoever wins represents Americas.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So USA has right now on the top most among all these countries and has gone to the World cup qualifier.
Speaker D:That means they have not gone to the cup, but they have gone to the qualifying levels.
Speaker D:And then they haven't made it once they start playing with the big ones.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker D:But the good part is I would say they came up and this is internationally, not for USA alone.
Speaker D:What the good part which the International Council did was they came up with the Under 19 World cup competition instead of only having a senior women, they have under 19, which was really good.
Speaker D:And the only criteria was that each country must have a pathway where they are growing the girls.
Speaker D:So in that way USA qualified for that.
Speaker D:They didn't have to play a qualifier.
Speaker D:So USA, USA has gone to two under 19 World Cups.
Speaker D:They've actually played World Cups.
Speaker D: was the first edition and: Speaker D:2023, they really didn't get a, you know, they didn't get there.
Speaker D:They were pretty much at the bottom of the table.
Speaker D:2025, they made it to the Super 6 from their group level.
Speaker D:They did well and then they went to the next level.
Speaker D:Unfortunately, Rains.
Speaker D:Malaysia.
Speaker D:It was in Malaysia and there were rains and there were some other things, so they didn't go further.
Speaker D:But that was, like, a big win for USA women even to go and beat a country like Ireland who have been playing for cricket for a while.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:So that was one.
Speaker D:One feather in the cap.
Speaker D:And this under 19 really helps because now the girls are getting ready, you know, from a younger age to go into the senior team.
Speaker B:Right, Right.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:So obviously, one of the reasons it's, like, not as popular in the US Is it's a little hard to understand if you weren't brought up in it.
Speaker B:What do you tell, like, when there are new girls that, you know, don't know anything about cricket, what.
Speaker B:What do you tell them in, like, a primer, like, what they need to know about cricket to get started?
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:So we see that there's similarities between softball, okay.
Speaker D:Or I would say baseball.
Speaker D:But when we're talking about women and girls, softball is the closest right to cricket.
Speaker D:And so.
Speaker D:And I have seen myself that there are girls who were playing softball, have a very good hitting, right?
Speaker D:They can really hit well.
Speaker D:They can really swing the bat well.
Speaker D:So that can be really comparable with the cricket part of it.
Speaker D:So that's one thing.
Speaker D:Any girl who's athletic and, you know, is available or wants to be, is passionate about being on a field, can definitely, you know, can join cricket.
Speaker D:That's what we.
Speaker D:That's what we go to the schools and we try to talk to them and see if they want to try it out.
Speaker D:It's pretty interesting.
Speaker D:It's got a lot of intelligence in the game.
Speaker D:There's a lot of strategy in it, Right.
Speaker D:Plus, there is a lot of athleticism.
Speaker D:So those are the kind of things we talk to the parents about and bring them in.
Speaker D:The good part is that girls who are of their age, like, say, if I would give a prime example of my daughter who plays both the games, softball and cricket, she plays softball in high school, and she plays cricket for the usa.
Speaker D:And so she.
Speaker D:When her friends come watch her, her American friends come and watch her who have not played the game, they really get excited, right?
Speaker D:And that's one way a lot of other cricketers are doing that and, you know, showing them that it's not that tough at all, right?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:Now, I would definitely compare one thing is time, right?
Speaker D:Commitments.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:The duration of a cricket game is longer than a softball game.
Speaker D:So that is where the commitment comes in.
Speaker D:But if they're passionate about the game and if they can make it to an international level.
Speaker D: Like we all know Los Angeles: Speaker D:And cricket is one of the sports this time which has been certified to be part of the Olympics.
Speaker D:So a lot of girls can have a very good, bright future, right, and be a part of an Olympic team.
Speaker D:USA is the host of this.
Speaker D:So we're hoping that USA gets a freebie, a free pass to get in there and host it and play along with the big, big big eights.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:And you mentioned the time because obviously my understanding of cricket was that, you know, games go five days, but the World cup, they play kind of an in between, right?
Speaker B:It's like about a day for a game.
Speaker D:So there are two types of World Cups, okay?
Speaker D:One, which was the older version, which is what is going on right now in India, it's called odi, which is one day international.
Speaker D:And it's called a one day because it does take seven hours for one one game to finish.
Speaker D:And so that's the longer version, the one you're talking about.
Speaker D:The five days are called test games, test matches.
Speaker D:And those women do play it, but very, very few, right.
Speaker D:Very few nations play it.
Speaker D:And that takes a longer time.
Speaker D:But that's now with this whole fast world we are in, nobody has the time for this, right?
Speaker D:So they made a shorter version of the game and that's called a T20, right?
Speaker D:It's 20 20.
Speaker D:Like softball has say seven innings, right?
Speaker D:Cricket has only two innings, right.
Speaker D:One team bats and the other team feels.
Speaker D:And bowls.
Speaker D:We call it bowling instead of pitching and vice versa.
Speaker D:So what target is set and then the other team either crosses the target plus one run or the bat, the team which batted first will ensure that they don't reach that score, right?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:Say if the batting team made a hundred runs, the batting team, when batting team goes to field in the second innings, they'll make sure they get them out or they make sure that they don't reach the 99.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker D:So in, in that way, but that's a shorter duration.
Speaker D:So that's kind of three to three and a half hours, kind of comparable.
Speaker D:I know softball can be like 1 hour, 45 minutes or 2 hours max.
Speaker D:But here, obviously that commitment has to be there from day one, right.
Speaker D:When they come for practices and stuff where they're going to play practice games, they're going to be ready to put in that kind of time and hours.
Speaker B:So the Women's World cup is happening right now.
Speaker B:We're down to the semi final matches because up till, up till now it's been there's 10 teams, pool play.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So now we're down to the semifinal matches.
Speaker B:What should people know?
Speaker D:Teams.
Speaker B:Sorry, sorry.
Speaker B:Eight teams.
Speaker D:Eight teams, yeah.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:So this is the last World cup where they're going to have eight.
Speaker D:But yes, from the next one they're going to have ten teams.
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Now we're down to the semis.
Speaker B:What should people know about the two semis happening this week?
Speaker D:Okay, so very excited.
Speaker D:Obviously it's been a mixed version, but I must say that I've been watching World Cups for a while now and I watch both men and women World Cups and they've come a long way, right?
Speaker D:A long way.
Speaker D:Previously, those games wouldn't last a long time.
Speaker D:Like, say they have those that many hours to play, but they didn't have that skill set.
Speaker D:So only a few countries like say Australia or England, those were the two best once upon a time.
Speaker D:And they would last a longer.
Speaker D:All the other countries would either get out and it wouldn't last.
Speaker D:And it.
Speaker D:But here it has been tough fights.
Speaker D:So I would say the negative of this World cup has been the rains.
Speaker D:The rain was.
Speaker D:It's an open outdoor field game, Right.
Speaker D:You cannot play it indoors.
Speaker D:So some of the games had to be washed out, abandoned.
Speaker D:So some of the countries definitely feel that they got, you know, it's hard luck, right.
Speaker D:You can't do much about it.
Speaker D:So that brings me to the two semis, which are very exciting.
Speaker D:Nothing of a surprise to me, though.
Speaker D:Australia is on number one, number two is England, number three is South Africa and number four is India.
Speaker D:So India's hosting.
Speaker D:There were more expectations from India that they're playing in their home ground.
Speaker D:They go playing their home fields and they would be right there on the top.
Speaker D:But then number four, nothing goes away because they're still in the semis.
Speaker D:So in the semis, number one plays number four and number two plays number three.
Speaker D:So first semi is going to be on 29th of October and that's going to be in the northeast side of India, which is called Guwahati.
Speaker D:And it's England versus South Africa.
Speaker D:Timings are bad for America because it's in India.
Speaker D:So it's like 4:30am Central Time.
Speaker D:So which is like say 2:30 for Pacific.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:And 5:30, 5:30 is not bad for Eastern time.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:People do wake up that early, but since it's a long game, you can.
Speaker B:Kind of watch second innings.
Speaker D:Yeah, you can watch the second innings.
Speaker D:Second semifinal is between Australia and India.
Speaker D:So that's going to be in Mumbai, which is on the west coast of the country.
Speaker D:And what, what has happened in this World cup, definitely being in India with the kind of crowds they're getting, that has, has hit the record.
Speaker B:Yeah, I heard that.
Speaker D:So, so the last game where India and New Zealand were fighting for the last position in the semis, it was 24, 000 people, which was, which is, which is a big record for a woman's cricket game, even in India.
Speaker B:Sure, yeah.
Speaker B:They also have record prize money this time, right, for the women.
Speaker D:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker D:You hit that one.
Speaker D:And when I saw that news, I was like, holy cow, how did that happen?
Speaker D:13.88 million.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:Almost 14 million in the kitty out of that.
Speaker D:The winning teams getting almost $5 million US dollars.
Speaker D:That is big money.
Speaker D:And this is like 275% more than the last World Cup.
Speaker D:Oh, so the World Cups happen.
Speaker D:The Odi.
Speaker D:Odi, which I said, like the one which takes seven to eight hours, happens every four years.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:It doesn't happen every year.
Speaker D:So the last one, which happened obviously because of COVID it was not in 21, it was in 22.
Speaker D:And Australia won that.
Speaker D:And they, they, they didn't win this kind of money.
Speaker D:They did.
Speaker D:Even that million dollar then was big.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:But now to get $5 million and the runners up are going to get $2.24 million.
Speaker D:That's a lot of money.
Speaker D:They did a good job that every team who's participating is getting $250,000.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:Just for participating.
Speaker D:Then every league game they won, they're getting another $35,000.
Speaker D:So semi finalists.
Speaker D:Yeah, semi.
Speaker D:Semi finalists are going to get a money.
Speaker D:You came on the fifth position, sixth position, seventh.
Speaker D:So everyone's getting something out of it.
Speaker D:So this, this has been a very good thing, which the icc, the International Cricket Council, went ahead and did it, and I think now because of the sponsorships and it's becoming a big thing around the world.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And who.
Speaker B:Okay, last question.
Speaker B:Who are you rooting for then in these semis?
Speaker D:Oh, God, there are two.
Speaker D:Two.
Speaker D:Obviously, my heart goes.
Speaker D:Obviously I'm born and brought up in India, so my heart is with India.
Speaker D:But I'm looking at the performances.
Speaker D:I can see Australia and England in the finals and then Australia taking the cup away.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker B:Well, thanks so much for, for explaining.
Speaker A:All this to us.
Speaker D:Yeah, no worries.
Speaker D:You know, this is too short a period for such a lot of information, and then me being passionate about it.
Speaker D:I won't stop talking about it.
Speaker D:So you can.
Speaker D:We can have this chat again and let me know whenever you need any more information.
Speaker D:But I enjoyed talking to you.
Speaker D:Great.
Speaker B:Thank you very much.
Speaker B:So it might have, I don't.
Speaker B:Like she mentioned it in there and it might have got missed.
Speaker B:There was 25, 000 fans in attendance for India's last pool play game.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Which is like a pretty big record for a cricket.
Speaker A:Women's cricket.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, I, I completely missed that.
Speaker A:The thing that I got stuck on there too is that some of the games were canceled because of the rain.
Speaker A:Is that like I didn't really understand how that whole, the whole rain thing worked, especially after she explained about like the length of the games and stuff.
Speaker A:So like they're out there for seven or eight hours.
Speaker A:You know, it's.
Speaker A:The whole field can turn into mud presumably.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think there's a point at which they like call a game and it's just a draw or there's no result.
Speaker B:And I think that's fine in pool play.
Speaker B:Like you just have no result and it just.
Speaker B:And obviously that can be, that can be unfavorable for some teams.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And if you end up with a lot of those then it can be a problem.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I will say my only understanding of cricket before kind of like the World cup here and everything.
Speaker B:And, and it is going to be in the LA Olympics and they play like a slightly different version in the Olympics.
Speaker B:But my only understanding was the test matches which are like the five day.
Speaker B:And this is because I got very into.
Speaker B:Do you remember the movie Lagan when I was in high school?
Speaker B:It won an Oscar.
Speaker B:Anyway, it was about cricket and it was like a four hour movie.
Speaker B:But in the, in it they, they played like a five day game.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And it ends with the rains coming at the very end.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:I do remember like I, because I lived in the UK for so long, I do remember that like cricket being five days and then there was a whole discussion and then, and then you went down to.
Speaker A:There were.
Speaker A:There's some.
Speaker A:There's a three day version I believe.
Speaker A:And then there's the one.
Speaker A:Then it came down to the one day as they tried to make the sport more international.
Speaker B:So one day is obviously what they play like she said, in the World Cup.
Speaker B:And then they are making these like short, fast, just three or four hour games for, for the youth.
Speaker A:It's so funny how it's different for different sports.
Speaker A:Like, you know we've talked about baseball before, right.
Speaker A:Where they were trying to reduce the length of a game down to like three, three and a half hours.
Speaker A:And it's this big outcry because of the slight change in rules and.
Speaker A:And all of that.
Speaker A:Like, it's all relative, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it'll be interesting to see how it kind of.
Speaker B:Well, one, how it plays out this week.
Speaker B:The finals are on Sunday and the winners win.
Speaker B:What did she say?
Speaker B:$4 million.
Speaker B:A lot of money.
Speaker B:And it'll also be interesting to see kind of how it continues to grow as we move both to the next World cup, but also to cricket.
Speaker B:Being in the LA Olympics, if we can kind of get like a US or north, you know, it'll probably help it in North America.
Speaker A:So, yeah, it's a sport to watch.
Speaker B:That'll be fun to watch.
Speaker B:Yes, yes, I know already, like half the world watches it, but also a sport to watch in North America.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:All right, Sarah, the big news this week and the one that, like, my Instagram is blowing up about people messaging me, there were two kind of big doping stories.
Speaker B:One was Ruth Chepnikich, who is the marathon world record holder from Chicago from two years ago, officially got a three year ban.
Speaker B:Now, that does not void her marathon world record because the world, like, the, the doping positive came out like a couple months after the world record was set.
Speaker B:So technically, like, you can't retroactively ban.
Speaker B:You know what I'm saying?
Speaker A:Oh, you can't retroactively void like she set the.
Speaker B:Yeah, she set the world record in October.
Speaker B:The doping positive came in like February or something like that.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But I think we.
Speaker B:It's one of these things where we're all kind of like, there's an asterisk next to that.
Speaker B:209.
Speaker A:Yes, I think.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yes, unfortunately.
Speaker B:Unfortunately.
Speaker B:So she had a three year band.
Speaker B:There was also these incriminating text messages on her cell phone that were like somebody else texting her, being like, so and so says, I should ask you how to use this.
Speaker A:But yeah, the text messages were wild.
Speaker A:Like pictures of like a picture of a vial.
Speaker A:And then her being like, I don't know how that got there, basically.
Speaker B:Well, so it also.
Speaker B:Somebody was like, well, somebody was like, oh.
Speaker B:She says, like things just, you know, doubt, like, like, WhatsApp downloads photos automatically.
Speaker B:And I was like, in all fairness, WhatsApp does download photos automatically because sometimes I am like, where did this thing come from?
Speaker B:Like, because I'm in some groups that I forgot I was in and I do find photos that I'm not sure how they got there.
Speaker A:Oh, that's true.
Speaker A:But usually like you're part of the group.
Speaker A:It's not just like randomly.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Things that you were not, are not part of the group.
Speaker A:But yeah, somebody could have texted you.
Speaker B:A picture and it just on WhatsApp and WhatsApp just downloads them automatically and they're just there and you're like, like.
Speaker B:But she also then her reasoning, her excuse was like, oh, she was sick and she took some medicine from her maid and it just happened to be, you know, this banned masking agent.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I think, you know, you sent me a link to a story.
Speaker A:We can share it in the show.
Speaker A:Notes about kind of about Kenya broadly and the.
Speaker A:How the incentive to dope is very high and why, like, so when you're talking about a place where like an annual, normal annual wage is $2,000.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And someone like, think of how many, think of how many running races even I've won $2,000 at.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker A:Let alone that like as an elite triathlete, let alone someone who's at that next level.
Speaker A:You know, you can easily, you're like doubling your family's income by going to France and running a low key local race.
Speaker A:Like, that's when I really started to, that really put it into perspective for me in terms of like the risk reward and what you'd be willing to do and even what you'd be willing to like, okay, you get caught.
Speaker A:But you know, how much money did you make in the process?
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or even like risk your health.
Speaker B:Like this was a, this was a big ass investigation that you're talking about from the New York Times.
Speaker B:But there was a big story from the Wall Street Journal a couple weeks ago about college recruiters going to Kenya and Ethiopia and running these like trials.
Speaker B:And a kid, I'm saying a kid because he was like 17, like dropped dead at one of those trials a couple years ago because prop, like probably because he was taking something.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like you don't just drop dead randomly at a.
Speaker B:As a 17 year old, 5k.
Speaker B:Usually not.
Speaker B:And so it's like the incentives are just so distorted and kind of what the New York Times investigation was saying.
Speaker B:And this is like what you hear from people on the ground there is that literally like you can just walk into any pharmacy.
Speaker B:Like it's like this isn't.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And like the pathway to elite running has become a bit commoditized in Kenya.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So you have like, you don't just have, you don't just.
Speaker A:In the early days, I can imagine, like the groups were smaller.
Speaker A:There was less Access.
Speaker A:But now kind of everyone.
Speaker A:Now I'm just saying things, but everyone knows, you know, that, like, running can be a path for you.
Speaker A:And if you're a little bit good at it, you might go try out.
Speaker A:And then you.
Speaker A:Then you have another layer of people trying to get into these fast groups and the right coaches in the right training environments.
Speaker A:Just like every place with Olympics, except for, like, they're dealing with, like, thousands and thousands of people trying to get into these programs.
Speaker A:So then how do you get an advantage to get into that program?
Speaker A:So it could even start really early, you know?
Speaker B:Oh, definitely.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's like.
Speaker B:So you both have that, like, that incentive system is distorted, you know, in the money.
Speaker B:And, like, obviously, Ruth, Chef Nugget, I mean, she said she did it right.
Speaker B:Like, she's got three years because she admitted it, like.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But then you have people like Joylene, who was the utmb, the shorter one, winner, and then she came out, like, ended up getting a pot or whatever.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:Her positive came out after she won the UTMB race, but it had come from a race like, a week or two earlier.
Speaker B:And she said.
Speaker B:And she came out very quickly, very clearly, like, there's a reason where we heard this right away.
Speaker B:She said, I hurt my knee if I didn't run.
Speaker B:I wasn't able to feed my kids and my mom, who lives with us.
Speaker B:I was worried I wasn't able to run.
Speaker B:I went to the doctor.
Speaker B:The doctor said, oh, don't worry about this injection.
Speaker B:It's not doping.
Speaker B:And I believed him.
Speaker B:Like, and that was my.
Speaker B:And she said, like, that was my mistake.
Speaker B:I shouldn't, like, right?
Speaker B:And, like, yeah, sure.
Speaker B:But, like, I'm just saying, like, that was the.
Speaker B:Like, what choice you're going to make there, for sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And an athlete, like, we're going to talk about another story next at triathlete, but, like.
Speaker A:And a Kenyan athlete's just as likely also to kind of bumble or make a mistake as.
Speaker A:As any other athlete as well.
Speaker A:So you definitely have.
Speaker B:You also do believe your doctors.
Speaker B:And they don't know.
Speaker B:Like, I went to the doctor one time, and they were like, oh, well, we're just gonna put an injection in your neck because I had this, like, weird scar.
Speaker B:And I was like, well, this is when I still racing pro.
Speaker B:And I was like, well, I need to check and make sure that's not banned.
Speaker B:And they were like, what are you talking about?
Speaker B:Like, they.
Speaker B:Yeah, they had no idea.
Speaker B:And even in the.
Speaker B:I was looking at Joylene's statement she made.
Speaker B:And one of the comments was this doctor being like, I give this injection to my patients all the time.
Speaker B:I didn't realize it was.
Speaker B:I don't think it's too big.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, no.
Speaker A:Oh, no.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker B:So it's like.
Speaker B:Yeah, because it was just.
Speaker B:I mean, it's just an anti inflammatory injection.
Speaker B:It's the same as like taking an anti inflammatory, but injected.
Speaker B:It's banned.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker B:Yeah, but I was saying, like, I don't think people actually know what's banned and what's not banned.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:And yeah, still I'm really stuck on this thing of like, it's one thing.
Speaker A:I know a lot of folks are probably willing to cheat for the chance at like an Olympic medal or a world championship or.
Speaker A:We've talked about before, if, especially if they think everybody else is cheating, right?
Speaker A:But then imagine like, literally that's how you feed your family or your family, an extended family, like, and everyone in your village, right?
Speaker B:You're like, well, yeah, but it's also really hard because like, obviously you have.
Speaker B:Then you have anti doping systems, you have testing.
Speaker B:Testing is getting better and better and better and can pick up more and more and more people are still a step ahead of it.
Speaker B:And you can't test everyone.
Speaker B:And like most runners and athletes are.
Speaker B:It's not as organized as people think.
Speaker B:People who are not pro athletes think that it's like, it's not right.
Speaker B:Like everyone's off training in their own little gyms and wherever, but at the same.
Speaker B:So you have.
Speaker B:So anyway, I'm trying to say, like, I understand why anti doping has to get stricter and stricter and stricter because you have all this stuff stacked against you, but then you also have it now can detect tiny trace amounts that was just from contamination in food.
Speaker B:Happen sometimes.
Speaker B:Like supplements definitely happen.
Speaker B:Just like things you can buy at Walgreens or fda.
Speaker B:Like a lot of those, you can have contamination.
Speaker B:And then the one.
Speaker B:The case this week was the triathlete Imogen Simmons.
Speaker B:She got a complete, like, ruling of no fault.
Speaker B:She has no ban, like, completely cleared.
Speaker B:Because the theory is she got it from sex with her partner.
Speaker B:And he was taking this.
Speaker B:It's called, like, sarm, one of the androgen receptors that like guys often take in the gym to, like, build muscle.
Speaker B:And apparently he was taking it.
Speaker B:She didn't know she had some contamination from having sex with him.
Speaker B:Yeah, and there's.
Speaker B:And that is like, apparently that can happen.
Speaker B:There had been other cases.
Speaker A:There Were other cases.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which I initially, when you hear that excuse, like, because I had sex with my partner, you're like, okay, this sounds like a burrito.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But yeah, it has happened Three.
Speaker A:This is the third time that we.
Speaker A:That I know of.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's not like, it's not like those things can't happen.
Speaker B:I had.
Speaker B:So she got completely cleared.
Speaker B:Like, not just even a, like, like a lot of times what you hear when somebody can prove that it was accidental is that then they get like the minimum three month or six month ban, which usually at that point has taken more than that to resolve.
Speaker B:So they just go back to competing.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker D:Some.
Speaker B:She got nothing.
Speaker B:So, like, and I'm not saying this, like, in a mean way, I'm just saying literally, she gets to keep her result from the World Championships in the December.
Speaker B:That was after the testing.
Speaker A:I don't know, Kelly, I think maybe the difference there might have been in the fact that she was able to prove that she didn't know somehow.
Speaker B:She was able to prove it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I think that there's two things there, right?
Speaker A:There's the, like, the.
Speaker A:Okay, she didn't intend to take the substance.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And then there's like, is the athlete.
Speaker A:Could the athlete possibly have known that they might be opening themselves up to like, this?
Speaker A:Because ultimately, we know with WADA and this is the case, like, I used to be on the testing list, right?
Speaker A:And so, like, we knew, we were trained to know that, like, we were responsible for everything we put into our bodies.
Speaker A:It actually becomes quite scary at times because you're like.
Speaker B:Right, because if you actually think about it, you're like, you're responsible for it, but you don't have control over it.
Speaker B:Like, every time you eat out, every.
Speaker A:Time you go, every time you take a supplement, you're just thinking about things in a different way than you do if you're not on that.
Speaker A:And they can show up at your door anytime.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So if you can prove.
Speaker A:I think that.
Speaker A:I think they probably were able to prove that she actually didn't know he was taking it.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Somehow because it's such a high in the past, historically, it's such a high standard to prove both, like, no fault and like, somehow that you just like, like you could not reasonably avoid.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Because I think if you take a supplement that's tainted, right?
Speaker A:You still, you're still.
Speaker A:You still have some, like, responsibility.
Speaker B:You might get a year.
Speaker B:Yeah, you'll get a lower sentence.
Speaker B:But, like, how much lower always depends on, like, what you're able to prove and then obviously, like, what you agree to, like, some people will take a two year ban because they don't want to go all the way to court and they think they could have gone.
Speaker B:Like, I'm not saying.
Speaker B:Yeah, that.
Speaker B:Right, you.
Speaker B:There's, there's still like a process that you can like, reach a negotiation, but to have like, to be able to prove.
Speaker B:So I was just like, oh, is WADA getting more reasonable?
Speaker B:Like, are they showing some discretion now and like, understanding of athletes?
Speaker B:Because that's new.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's an interesting question.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:Yeah, I did.
Speaker A:Yeah, it is.
Speaker A:I think, I really do think that there was something there that she was able to somehow that she didn't know.
Speaker A:Like, and I don't know how, because how you then prove that you don't know what your partner is taking.
Speaker A:I don't know how you like, catac prove that, like, without a doubt, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, because I feel like the USADA head of anti doping who now does anti doping for Iron man once told me that almost always when one like this is like, off the record whatever, but like when one person is taking it, their significant other almost always is also doping.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, it's really hard to like, not be doping if you're partner is.
Speaker B:But this does sound.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, so her boyfriend is just like an age group amateur athlete.
Speaker B:Was just like, trying to bulk up in the gym.
Speaker B:Was just like something he bought at gnc.
Speaker B:Like, I don't think it was like anything crazy.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, what.
Speaker A:I'm happy for her.
Speaker A:Like, yeah, like, Imogen, she's one of those, you know, when, you know, athletes.
Speaker A:So I had interviewed Imogen ahead of the Ironman World Championships many years ago and she, when she was kind of like up and coming and you know, when you like, you know someone, you've met them, you've had good banter with them, you find it really hard to believe that they would intentionally take a banned substance.
Speaker A:So she was definitely in that category for me where I was like, like, I'm never gonna go to the mats on like, that person.
Speaker A:No way.
Speaker A:Because you don't know what people are doing behind closed doors.
Speaker A:But, like, that would have been my, like, my gut reaction would be like, no way.
Speaker A:Like, she's just, you know, she's just this like, kind of happy, like, person out there.
Speaker A:She's.
Speaker A:She's racing.
Speaker A:It even came out in some of the reports we're seeing now like, she's racing because she loves triathlon so much.
Speaker A:Like, it Just didn't seem to fit.
Speaker A:You know, it's.
Speaker B:But you obviously, you never don't know, but.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I was happy for Imogen that she was able.
Speaker B:And I am in no way saying they should have given her a six month ban.
Speaker B:I was just surprised that she was able to prove it to that extent because I have known plenty of people who have had contamination cases and issues, and I've heard horror stories of, like, someone's able to prove no fault, but then their governing body comes back and gives them a year ban anyway, even though the testing agency says, like, no, they weren't at fault.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's really, really, really hard to.
Speaker B:The standard of guilt is such that you are presumed guilty and you, like, you have to do, like, crazy stuff to prove that you didn't like that it.
Speaker B:You're not.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That you're not taking.
Speaker B:And I don't know.
Speaker B:To the point that we kind of started with way back at the beginning of the show.
Speaker B:I don't know how anti doping balances that going forward because the testing has gotten so, like, sensitive.
Speaker B:And even like the head of US ADA in a similar case where somebody had taken, like, cold medicine or something.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, something.
Speaker B:And she got a six month.
Speaker B:He was even, like, the testing might be too sensitive.
Speaker B:Like, not too.
Speaker B:But he's like, we need to think about how we deal with this in the future.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:As the testing gets more and more and more sensitive.
Speaker B:But also people are taking more and more and more supplements and drugs and.
Speaker B:And we also know that, like, certain age, amateur age group athletes are taking a lot of things that are technically bad.
Speaker A:Like testosterone.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And hgh.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And so you're like, oh, yeah, I think.
Speaker A:Yeah, I.
Speaker A:If.
Speaker A:If you could.
Speaker A:I mean, I think Imogen Simon's, like, case is.
Speaker A:Is to your point, to your first point there about how the testing is getting more and more sensitive.
Speaker A:Like, if you could.
Speaker A:If your partner can be taking a substance you don't know that he.
Speaker A:In this case is.
Speaker A:The only way to make it make sense is taking and you get it through, like, sexual transmission.
Speaker A:Like, whoa, you know, like, that's a sensitive freaking test.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I don't know what the.
Speaker B:I don't, like, I don't know what the answer is.
Speaker B:I am worried that it goes too.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That, like, because you either can be super, super, super strict and like, anything, anyone, like, you can go really overboard on the testing and people are banned for life.
Speaker B:Like, there's always people who want, like, lifetime bans.
Speaker B:I'M not a lifetime banned person.
Speaker B:Or you can be like, well, we're gonna air the other direction and be trying, like be understanding.
Speaker B:Like you, you know, like in the scale of some innocent people will get caught or some guilty people go free.
Speaker B:Where do you.
Speaker B:I'm always on the.
Speaker B:I'd rather some guilty people go free in like any criminal justice scale.
Speaker B:I'm gonna land on that side.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker A:But yeah, I think too there might be an answer in the quantity of it too.
Speaker A:That's in your, you know, in some.
Speaker A:Especially if you're doing random controlled.
Speaker A:Like, especially when you're doing like random testing.
Speaker A:Like when.
Speaker A:So when I was in the testing pool, right.
Speaker A:Like they could show up at my place at a certain.
Speaker A:You have to put an hour of when you're going to be in a certain place every single day.
Speaker A:And like they could show up any day.
Speaker A:Or you don't know when they're showing up.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So I think there's some space for the.
Speaker A:Maybe like the quantity.
Speaker A:Like when you're seeing this is like this tiny, tiny amount of a substance.
Speaker A:And so like there's.
Speaker A:It's more likely to come from cross contamination or something unintentional than if you're seeing.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm just talking out of my ass at this point.
Speaker B:No, I don't know what's fault.
Speaker B:I think they probably take that into consideration.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, I an Olympian one time told me about.
Speaker B:Apparently the tester showed up during their.
Speaker B:Her window and their doorbell wasn't working and they didn't hear and they only hear as they're like pulling away in the car that like the.
Speaker B:And her significant other like running down the street in his boxers.
Speaker B:Because you would get a misstest and.
Speaker A:If you have three missed tests, then you're.
Speaker A:Then you get a.
Speaker B:He's like running down the street, come back and they came and then they put it in like a whole bunch more doorbells on their house.
Speaker B:So you hear stories like this all the time, right.
Speaker B:Where you're just like, it is people.
Speaker B:And that's not something that like made it like this was just.
Speaker B:They were telling me.
Speaker B:Yeah, but it's like it's a, it's not a foolproof system.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So yeah, for sure.
Speaker A:I think that they must have some way of like if you have access to the test results from years and years and years of going, okay, so like this quantity of X substance in this number of tests, like was did overall, did we judge that person to be guilty?
Speaker A:Like there must be some data that they can use to help helps guide how they move forward or how you.
Speaker A:I don't know how you like.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you have to do random testing.
Speaker B:Like in competition tests are a waste of money and time.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like random testing is kind of random testing out of competition is very expensive.
Speaker B:A lot of times when you do it, they end up.
Speaker B:It's supposed to be unannounced because otherwise what's the point?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But a lot of times it kind of ends up announced because you show up in Eldoret or Eden or wherever and everyone in town knows.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So like what.
Speaker A:That's what happened with.
Speaker A:That's what would happen with me because I'd know that if I was at home in Victoria.
Speaker A:They're not sending testing people to Victoria bc.
Speaker A:So I would just know.
Speaker A:But if I was in Tucson, where a ton of triathletes train in the winter, that the chances of being tested went way, way up just from being in a place where they actually send the testers to.
Speaker A:And I'm sure that's true in all sports.
Speaker B:And it's like there's certain.
Speaker B:So now a lot of the governing bodies and like, like Iron man is a water signatory.
Speaker B:So a lot of the signatories, they contract with an agency that runs all their testing, all their data, all the results.
Speaker B:Like they don't literally like touch any of it.
Speaker B:And that agency has testers in certain places.
Speaker B:They also, they look for suspicious things if that makes sense.
Speaker B:Like if they like.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So they, they do like a pre kind of investigation.
Speaker B:So I think there are ways you can manage it.
Speaker B:And you know, random out of competition probably be less predictable, but that costs more money.
Speaker B:And that's the other half of it is it's like how do you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So 100% people always complain about this, but then they don't want to pay the money.
Speaker A:It's true.
Speaker A:Have we solved doping?
Speaker B:Have we solved doping?
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:And then apparently they do also at some races and I did not know this, but they will also test amateurs randomly.
Speaker B:But that is almost exclusively by suspicion or report.
Speaker A:Oh, it's.
Speaker A:Is that in running at triathlon.
Speaker A:Triathlon.
Speaker B:I assume it's also in running.
Speaker B:But like they will also do like the winners at like the world championship for amateurs and that kind of thing.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:And the funniest thing anyone ever told me was that amateurs are calling in tips on each other all the fucking time.
Speaker B:Like every day they're calling the tip line and being like this guy at my gym is definitely dope.
Speaker B:But pros, pros like.
Speaker B:And pros know.
Speaker B:Pros know each other.
Speaker B:They know who's a little.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They don't ever even anonymously say anything.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So that's funny.
Speaker A:Yeah, I believe that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it just cracked me up for the age.
Speaker B:The amateur age groupers are just calling in doping tips every day.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker B:All right, Sarah, do you have a feisty pick for the week?
Speaker A:Pick of the week.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I'm picking Kate Douglas, who swam the 100 meters short course in 49.93.
Speaker A:Just because.
Speaker A:Partially because I actually.
Speaker A:You know how my goal this year, Kelly, it's to swim, to do 12 swims.
Speaker B:Oh, I think you're gonna have a time goal for a second.
Speaker B:And I was like, I didn't know you had time goals swimming anymore.
Speaker A:That would be wild.
Speaker A:That would be ridiculous.
Speaker A:No, my goal is to swim 12 times.
Speaker A:Just physically do something that's considered a workout in the pool.
Speaker A:12 times.
Speaker A:So I did my.
Speaker A:We did three when we were in Kona together.
Speaker A:So I'm.
Speaker A:I was at 10 today.
Speaker A:I did my 11th and I did some 1/ hundreds and I swam 100 short course meters.
Speaker A:Same at like 1:22, which I was like very proud of my part of myself that's like not considering I'm not doing any swim training.
Speaker A:Anyone who knows swim times could maybe appreciate that.
Speaker A:That's a little bit.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And I was very proud of myself.
Speaker A:And 49, 93 is like, honestly just unbelievable.
Speaker A:And to go under, you know, I really appreciate like athletes.
Speaker A:It's like the four minute mile.
Speaker A:Like the first person going into the four minute mile, it's like 50 seconds for the hundred.
Speaker A:Is kind of that kind of barrier in swimming and under she went.
Speaker A:So good for her.
Speaker B:Good for her.
Speaker B:I'm gonna pick Tara Dower, who won the javelin 100, 100 miles.
Speaker B:She set the course record.
Speaker B:She broke by like 30 minutes.
Speaker B: She ran a hundred miles in: Speaker B:Um, and it's a big race.
Speaker B:It's like a golden ticket race.
Speaker B:It's a stones race.
Speaker B:It's all the things.
Speaker B:But Tara, she set those fastest known times last year on the Appalachia Trail.
Speaker A:That's long trail.
Speaker B:She did the big one in Vermont earlier this year.
Speaker B:And then she's been doing some actual like ultra running.
Speaker B:And she's had some rough races.
Speaker B:Like she had a really.
Speaker B:She'd not finished Western states.
Speaker B:She had a really rough race at Cocodina or whatever earlier like last month.
Speaker B:And I just appreciate that.
Speaker B:She just like bounces back, you know, like still keeps like coming through.
Speaker B:So you like it?
Speaker A:You like a bouncer backer to bounce back.
Speaker A:It does.
Speaker A:It does so good for her.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:That's all of our news today.
Speaker B:I was trying to think what we have next week, and I don't even remember.
Speaker B:I think we're going to talk some more mountain biking.
Speaker B:I'm sure there's another world championship.
Speaker B:Positive.
Speaker B:And then we will, you know, all the women's sports next week.
Speaker B:It.
