The 126th Boston Marathon is upon us and 30,000 runners will soon line up in Hopkinton to make the 26.2 mile long journey to the famous Boylston Street in Boston. Before the excitement of the race day kicks in, we are bringing you the ultimate guide to the origins of the world’s oldest marathon! 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

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Sources and further reading:

History of the Boston Marathon: https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/history 

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Transgender star of University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team, Lia Thomas, has dominated women’s college swimming this season. She has also become the face of tradeoffs between inclusion and fairness while her presence in the pool has divided America. Many, including some teammates, believe she shouldn’t be able to compete against other women. 

In this episode, we tell the story of Lia Thomas, discuss different arguments in the debate of whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s sports, and look at what the science has to say on the issue.  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading:

‘I Am Lia’: The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story (Sports Illustrated): https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/03/lia-thomas-penn-swimmer-transgender-woman-daily-cover 

Watching Lia Thomas Win (Common Sense): https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/watching-lia-thomas-win?utm_source=url&s=r 

Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage by Emma N. Hilton & Tommy R. Lundberg: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3 

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In a 2011 survey, 44% of elite track and field athletes admitted to doping but the percentage of athletes who are actually caught using performance enhancing drugs is significantly lower, it barely exceeds 1% on average. How do so many get away with using performance enhancing substances and why is no one doing anything to stop it? 

In this episode, we talk about the IOC’s and World Anti-Doping Agency’s strategy for catching doped athletes, touch on Russia’s 2014 Sochi Olympics big doping scandal, and discuss why doping in sports remains even more prevalent than most think. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading:

Tackling Doping Seriously - Reforming the World Anti-Doping System after the Russian Scandal by Antoine Duval: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2836388 

Doping in sport: why it can't be stopped (The Economist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z466itSHE58&ab_channel=TheEconomist 

Doping in Two Elite Athletics Competitions Assessed by Randomized-Response Surveys by Rolf Ulrich et al.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28849386/ 

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Building on the story from last week’s episode, we discuss media’s reactions to Women’s Figure Skating event at Beijing 2022 and their complicity in the cycle of exploitation that led to the situation Kamila Valieva and her teammate Alexandra Trusova found themselves in.  

Furthermore, at Beijing 2022 Olympics, Chinese-American freestyle skier Eileen Gu became the first freestyle skier to ever win three Olympic medals at a single Olympic Games as well as the youngest skier to ever win an Olympic freestyle skiing medal. Her decision to represent her mother’s home country of China in international competition instead of the United States where Gu was born and raised, however, received more media attention than her historic medals. We discuss 18-year-old Gu as a face of geopolitical tensions between China and the United States as well as the impact of media’s coverage of her story on the future of sports.  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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What to do about the social media shaming of figure skater Zhu Yi (CNN): https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/07/opinions/zhu-yi-olympics-figure-skating-positive-slamming-alaimo/index.html 

Eileen Gu is Trying to Soar Over the Geopolitical Divide (The New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/sports/olympics/eileen-gu-china-freeski.html 

Dramatics skates, reactions from unforgettable women’s free skate (NBC Sports): https://twitter.com/behindthegold/status/1494725802583375877 

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15-year-old Kamila Valieva sparked a lot of media attention during the Beijing 2022 Olympics - first for becoming the first female skater to land a quad jump in Olympic competition then for testing positive for a banned angina medication. As the world keeps asking questions about her doping test, there is a much bigger issue with the state of women’s figure skating that needs attention. We break down the evolution of women’s figure skating under Valieva’s coach Eteri Tutberidze who introduced the quad jumps into women’s skating and led teen skaters Yulia Lipnitskaya, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Alina Zagitova to Olympic glory.  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading: 

Kamila Valieva failed her drug test. Blame her coaches. (Vox): https://www.vox.com/22929275/kamila-valieva-trimetazidine-eteri-tutberidze-olympics-2022 

The Eteri Expiration Date: Kamila Valieva and Russia’s Quest For Figure Skating Gold (Business Insider): https://www.businessinsider.com/the-revered-but-controversial-coach-who-could-make-olympic-history-2022-2  

Nassar whistleblower says Valieva case highlights vulnerability of young athletes (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/figure-skating-nassar-whistleblower-says-valieva-case-highlights-vulnerability-2022-02-12/ 

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Happy Super Bowl Sunday! As Rams and Bengals gear up to play Super Bowl LVI, we are bringing you the ultimate guide to the origins of the annual football game turned international phenomenon. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading: 

Super Bowl 1 | The Lost Game | Green Bay Packers vs Kansas City Chiefs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BspHrUquNVo&ab_channel=ClassicSports 

Super Bowl 3 Highlights - Jets vs Colts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYDk8phu6tA&ab_channel=SavageBrickSports 

Super Bowl XXXIII Recap: Broncos vs. Falcons | NFL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HgxrcoG_bI&ab_channel=NFL 

Devin Hester Opening Kickoff Return | Superbowl XLI | Extended Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGtxZlQwxNQ&ab_channel=SemiFlared 

The Greatest Comeback in Football History | Super Bowl 51: Patriots vs. Falcons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09nbc6sr7Xg&ab_channel=NFL 

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It’s time for another Olympics! In today’s episode, we give you all the information you need to know ahead of Beijing 2022. Tune in to hear about the Beijing’s Olympic bid, diplomatic boycott of the Games, the pandemic’s impact on the event, and the potential environmental issues surrounding these Winter Games. And, to wrap this preview up, we introduce you to 10 athletes to watch over the next two weeks! 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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In response to China’s mistreatment of Uyghur People in the Xinjiang Region, the United States announced Monday that the country will not be sending any government officials to the upcoming Beijing Olympics but the athletes will still compete. Several other countries have since joined the US in their diplomatic boycott which is expected to further increase tensions between the United States and China. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading: 

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx5xyOR4uOg&ab_channel=IOCMedia 

The White House Announces Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Olympics (Associated Press): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCcr0VhNp7E&ab_channel=AssociatedPress  

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On one hot and humid afternoon, 32 runners lined up to race the 1904 Olympic marathon race on the dusty roads of St. Louis. With no access to water and vehicles kicking up dust into their lungs, the runners soon started dropping like flies. Some were chased by wild dogs, others stole fruit from spectators, and the most desperate ones resorted to taking rat poison as a performance enhancing drug. This is the story of the 1904 Olympic marathon.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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Sources and further reading: 

The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever by Karen Abbot (Smithsonian Magazine): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1904-olympic-marathon-may-have-been-the-strangest-ever-14910747/ 

The Unbelievable True Story of the Craziest Olympic Marathon by Ashwin Rodrigues (Runner’s World): https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a37039437/1904-olympic-marathon/ 

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On the night of November 4, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Kheira Hamraoui was attacked by two masked men in an effort that seemingly aimed to injure her legs. Less than a week later, her teammate Aminata Diallo was taken into custody for possible involvement in the attack. Aminata had since been released and was likely not involved, but a new suspect emerged. 

Two days earlier, on November 2, Chinese professional tennis player Peng Shuai accused a former Chinese vice premier of sexual assault in a social media post. Her post had since been removed and Peng Shuai entirely disappeared from social media. The WTA soon took action to ensure her safety but, as of November 21, no one associated with the WTA - including players and officials - had been able to directly reach her.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthegold

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthegoldpod/

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