800m Plot Twists as History Beckons for Werro & Hodgkinson / Should the IOC Pay Olympic Athletes? / "Your computer screen is too big"

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In this show:

• Switzerland's Audrey Werro delivered a stunning plot twist in the women's 800m, running the third fastest time in history (1:53.98) in Stockholm to beat a personal best from Keely Hodgkinson. Suddenly the world record conversation has two names in it. We discuss Werro's emergence and potential, the tactical error that may have cost Hodgkinson slightly, and what this means for the possibilities that the oldest world record in the sport falls this year
• Where does Femke Bol fit into all this? The Dutch 400m hurdles star changed events in search of new challenges, but the event is evolving so fast that the challenge looks significantly greater and she's not even raced outdoors yet! We discuss whether her 400 meter speed is a genuine weapon or whether the 400-800 double is as rare as it is for good reason
• Cooper Lutkenhaus is the most exciting teenager in track and field, already a world indoor champion, and now a Diamond League winner. We talk about his pedigree and potential, with Gareth nothing a multi-sport background that augurs well for his longevity. Challenges and 'road bumps' await, but he has a ceiling that may lie beyond the current world record
• Kirsty Coventry said she doesn't believe in paying Olympic athletes, and it has not landed well. Global Athlete has responded with a proposal for interim payments and a breakdown of the IOC's finances that is staggering. The IOC is sitting on nearly five billion dollars in reserves, and Global Athlete are asking for eight percent of the Paris broadcasting revenue. We ponder why Coventry made that statement knowing it would invite significant blowback, and what it reveals about the pressure she is under from inside the IOC. We also speculate on whether there are any good reasons to avoid paying Olympic athletes
• Anna van der Breggen lost the women's Giro on the final day from the pink jersey, her second Grand Tour lead lost this year. We explore why smaller team sizes in the women's peloton make tactical racing both more unpredictable and more compelling, and why the women's Tour de France is shaping up to be exceptional
• The UCI's weekly rule update: no more front jersey pockets, bike computers limited in size, finishing straights must now be at least 200 meters, and an appeal against the Belgian court ruling on gear ratios. We work through each one, pick out the ones that make sense and the ones that really don't, and ask again why the SAFER data hasn't been made public to respond some of the criticisms the UCI are receiving
• Christian Eriksen collapsed again during an international friendly, this time saved by his implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Ross explains what the device actually does, how often it fires appropriately versus inappropriately, and why Erikison's second event raises serious questions about whether continuing to play is tenable
• And finally, a listener on Discourse solved the mystery of why Shohei Ohtani's baseball salary looked so low on the Forbes rich list. The answer involves 68 million dollars per year deferred over a decade, void years, ghost contracts, and some of the most creative accounting in professional sport

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