EXPERTS: Tokyo Olympic games
The Summer Olympics are set to begin Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo. The games were originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1948, the University of Colorado Boulder has produced over 90 Olympic athletes who have competed in events across the globe. CU Boulder experts can discuss various aspects of this year’s summer Olympic games.
Marijuana in sport
In the wake of sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for using marijuana, Professor Angela Bryan can discuss the impact cannabis has on various aspects of exercise, including sports performance. Bryan, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, has conducted extensive research on the risks and benefits of cannabis. Read about her work and her take on the Richardson case.
Anti-doping and differences of sexual development (DSD)
Professor Roger Pielke Jr. can discuss issues at the intersection of science, policy and sport, including anti-doping regulations and rules around differences of sexual development (DSD). He founded and directed the CU Sports Governance Center (2016-2019) and is the author of "The Edge: The War Against Cheating and Corruption in the Cutthroat World of Elite Sports". In 2019, his research called into question new international rules requiring women with high testosterone to medically lower it in order to compete among women. The rules have prevented several athletes, including Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma, from competing in the Tokyo games.
Advances in running shoes
Rodger Kram, associate professor emeritus of integrative physiology, can discuss the latest advances in running shoes to be showcased at this year’s track and field events, including the new era of "super spikes." He has studied the physiology and biomechanics of running and running shoes for many years. His lab quantified the advantage (4%) that the revolutionary Nike Vaporfly shoes provide for marathon running. His prior research laid the groundwork for the “super spikes" that are attributed with sudden improvements in world records on the track.
Inequalities in women's pay
Jamie Skerski, a senior instructor in the College of Media, Communication and Information, specializes in the study of gender, sexuality and sport and has published articles on female sportscasters, tomboys and identity. She teaches about the intersections of capitalism, globalization, gender, race, and sport and how sport is a microcosm to discuss social issues through a lens everyone can understand. She is available to talk about pay inequities in women's sports, including women's soccer.
Contact: CU Boulder media relations, cunews@colorado.edu