Sports – FiveThirtyEight — doping RSS



Russian Doping Isn’t The Only Problem In Figure Skating

When 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva took to the ice Tuesday in her purple chiffon skating dress to warm up for the women’s short program, NBC analysts Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski seemed at a loss for words — unusual for the chatty commentating team. “To be honest, I almost don’t believe what I’m seeing,” […]

Continue reading



Tell Us Two Things And We’ll Tell You How Fast You’d Run A Marathon

This article is an update to a marathon prediction calculator that originally appeared on Slate in October 2014. Since then, the statisticians behind the calculator have updated the numbers and the formula on which it is based, and the author of the article has become a FiveThirtyEight staff writer. As a result, FiveThirtyEight has reworked […]

Continue reading



Sprinters Should Start Fast; Everyone Else Should Finish Fast

Almaz Ayana won the gold medal in the women’s 10,000 meters at the Summer Olympics on Friday with a blistering pace that obliterated the previous world best to set a new world record — 29:17.45. When Mo Farah took home the gold in the men’s 10,000 meters the next day in Rio de Janeiro, his […]

Continue reading



Is It Fair To Ban All Russian Athletes From The Olympics?

This is Strength in Numbers, a column exploring the science of sports and athleticism. I welcome your feedback, suggestions and news tips. Email me, leave suggestions in the comments section or tweet to me @CragCrest. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva wants an opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer. Problem […]

Continue reading



Is It Fair To Ban All Russian Athletes From The Olympics?

This is Strength in Numbers, a column exploring the science of sports and athleticism. I welcome your feedback, suggestions and news tips. Email me, leave suggestions in the comments section or tweet to me @CragCrest. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva wants an opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer. Problem […]

Continue reading