Tragedy and Safety in Competitive Sports

We are back with a Spotlight show, and in this one, we discuss the case of Janik Sinner, who was cleared earlier this week of a doping violation after a panel agreed that his positive test for clostebol was caused by his physiotherapist's use of a banned substance to treat a finger cut while performing massage treatments on the player. We describe the timeline, the challenge faced by anti-doping authorities, and the controversial speed with which Sinner was able to continue playing after appealing provisional suspensions on two occasions. We also shine a spotlight on risk in sport, after a tragedy at the CrossFit Games in Texas, where a 28 year old participant died during a swim item. The team explain why swimming is where the danger exists, and then discuss the philosophy of risk and the tension between the core values of a sport, and the duty of care of the sports to protect athletes from foreseeable and unnecessary risks.

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Show notes

Janik Sinner Spotlight

• Summary of the Janik Sinner decision by the ITIA
• The Full Decision of the case can be read here
• The study showing clostebol positive tests through contamination, cited in the defence
• Edmund Willison's article on clostebol positives, primarily in Italy

CrossFit Games Spotlight

• Study on deaths in triathlon, showing the high proportion that happen on the swim leg
• Paper that proposes Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema as a cause of swim-related deaths
• Lay article that explains SIPE and interviews researchers who study it, including discussion of how risk is mitigated and managed by events

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