Replicability in Sports Science

Joe Warne, PhD, is a researcher at the Technological University Dublin. Joe is a main driver behind the Sports Science Replication Centre, that aims to replicate studies in the field of sports science to critically evaluate the quality and validity of the research. Joe and his team recently published a large-scale study showing that only 28% of randomly selected studies could be replicated, which has led to great concerns regarding the quality and methodology in sports science, and could impact how we view and consume science. 

HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS: 

• What are the replication concerns in sports science, and why does it matter? 
• How can coaches and athletes navigate scientific research, given the methodological issues that exist? 
• How to discern between more and less credible findings in sports science
• The underlying issues: publication bias, underpowered study designs, and questionable research practices
• The way forward

DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES: 

• We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. Naturally, as great as they are, they do not cover absolutely everything in as great detail as we can do in a 45-90 minute podcast episode.  
• The shownotes for today's episode can be found at www.scientifictriathlon.com/tts468/

LINKS AND RESOURCES: 

• Joe's ResearchGate profile
• Sports Science Replication Centre website
• Replication concerns in sports and exercise science: a narrative review of selected methodological issues in the field - Mesquida et al. 2022
• Estimating the Replicability of Sports and Exercise Science Research - Murphy et al. 2025
• Publication bias, statistical power and reporting practices in the Journal of Sports Sciences: potential barriers to replicability - Mesquida et al. 2023
• On the replicability of sports and exercise science research: assessing the prevalence of publication bias and studies with underpowered designs by a z-curve analysis - Mesquida et al. 2025
• A scoping review of the transparency, reporting practices and methodological rigor of meta-analyses published in Sports Medicine - Mesquida et al. 2025
• prevalence, reporting practices, and methodological quality of a priori power analyses in sports and exercise science research - Mesquida et al. 2025

WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT?

If you enjoyed this episode, I think you'll love the following episodes: 

• Manuel Sola Arjona – The Nature of Training and complexity science | EP#437
• Balancing the art and the science of endurance training with Susan Sotir, PhD | EP#167
• The Skeptic’s Guide To Sports Science with Nicholas Tiller, PhD | EP#239

You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc.

You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: 

• The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do
• Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)
• Subscribe to our Newsletter
• Follow us on Instagram
• Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. 

HOW CAN I SUPPORT THAT TRIATHLON SHOW (FOR FREE)? 

I really appreciate you reading this and considering helping the show! If you love the show and want to support it to help ensure it sticks around, there are a few very simple things you can do, at no cost other than a minute of your time. 

• Subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app to automatically get all new episodes as they are released.
• Tell your friends, internet and social media friends, acquaintances and triathlon frenemies about the podcast. Word of mouth is the best way to grow the podcast by far! 
• Rate and review the podcast (ideally five stars of course!) in your podcast app of choice (Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the biggest and most important ones).
• Share episodes online and on social media. Share your favourite episodes in your Instagram stories, start a discussion about interesting episodes on forums, reference them in your blog or Substack. 

SPONSORS: 

• Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fueling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event. That Triathlon Show listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolyte products. Simply use this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout.

NEW BASE TRAINING PLANS - 60% LAUNCH DISCOUNT

We have just launched a set of brand new base training plans. There is a low-volume (7 hours per week average), mid-volume (10 h/wk) and high-volume (14 h/wk) version available. 

For a limited time only, until the 31st of August 2025, these plans are available on a massive discount of 60%, meaning you can purchase a plan for 30$ instead of the regular price of 75$. Use the code "BASE1" at checkout to apply this discount code. 

The plans are only available on TrainingPeaks. You can learn more about each of the plans (and purchase them, if you so desire) through the links below. 

• Low-volume Base Training Plan
• Mid-volume Base Training Plan
• High-volume Base Training Plan