One of my core sports memories from high school is watching UConn women’s basketball win its third straight NCAA championship in 2004. So when the trailer for The Dynasty: UConn Huskies dropped, I was immediately back in my prewrap headband era. The new docuseries looks at 40 years of the program under Geno Auriemma and premieres on Apple TV this Friday, which has naturally sent me down a bit of a UConn rabbit hole. I agree with Auriemma on his retirement philosophy, but I have notes for Diana Taurasi’s UConn Mount Rushmore. Namely: Diana, you forgot Diana. I’d also like to formally request the return of this windbreaker set from slide three. And since Taurasi apparently won’t give herself her flowers, I’m glad the Phoenix Mercury did when they retired her jersey over the weekend. OK, I’ll stop reminiscing now. Let’s get to the rest of the sports headlines…
— Jordan Galloway, Editor, Katonah, NY
Let's Discuss
Advantage, GLP-1?
What’s going on: GLP-1s have transformed weight loss. Now experts are asking: Could they give athletes an edge? There’s been no avoiding the subject at the Cincinnati Open, where a banner showing 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams injecting herself with a GLP-1 circled overhead. Williams is the most prominent athlete to publicly embrace the drugs, but there are signs others are using them, too. In a small new international study, researchers surveyed 114 sports-medicine physicians across 38 countries, and 12% said they were aware of athletes using GLP-1s without a medical need. When asked why athletes might use them, physicians most often cited the need to meet weight requirements or manage weight after an injury. The catch? Nobody actually knows whether that translates to better performance. In the sports world, “one reason for the uncertainty is that GLP-1 drugs have not been studied in elite athletes,” cardiologist and exercise physiologist Massimo Mapelli told the BBC.
The gray area: So why are regulators watching? One US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) adviser says GLP-1s could theoretically offer an advantage in sports where weight matters. But being lighter doesn’t necessarily mean performing better. On the flip side, GLP-1s can suppress appetite and cause muscle loss, potentially leaving athletes underfueled and weaker. For now, the World Anti-Doping Agency doesn’t prohibit the drugs, though it monitors semaglutide — a GLP-1 medication prescribed for weight loss and diabetes — for potential misuse. Another USADA official says future versions that preserve more muscle could prove more advantageous. Take away one of the drugs’ biggest potential drawbacks for athletes, and you change the game considerably.
