Double-Amputee Sprinter Can Try for Olympics
by Allie Comeau on May 16, 2008 
2 comments
Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, also known as “the fastest man on no legs,” has just been given the right to compete for a spot in the Olympics.
The last time we talked about Oscar, the International Association of Athletics Federations Committee had just barred him from competing in the Olympics because they said his carbon fiber prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners.
I didn’t understand how an amputee could possibly have an advantage over able-bodied runners. It didn’t seem right to me that he was barred when there was no real proof his prosthetics gave him an edge. Oscar didn’t think it was right either, so he appealed the decision. This time around, he won.
The article in Sports Illustrated states…
“The panel was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage in favor of a double-amputee using the Cheetah Flex-Foot,” CAS said. “Furthermore, the CAS panel has considered that the IAAF did not prove that the biomechanical effects of using this particular prosthetic device gives Oscar Pistorius an advantage over other athletes not using the device.”
The only unfortunate aspect of the situation is that he’s lost precious training time fighting for the right to compete. Oscar holds the Paralympic 400-meter record at 46:56, but he needs to run it in 45:55 or less to qualify for the Olympics.
Still, he is not dissuaded. If he fails to make the cut, he could still go to Beijing as an alternate or as part of the South African relay team… and there’s always 2012. This article in Times Online quotes him as saying…
“As you can imagine I have been struggling to hide my smile for the last half an hour,” Pistorius said. “I can definitely say the truth has come out. I have the opportunity once again to chase my dream of participating in an Olympics, if not in 2008 then in 2012.”
I sure hope he qualifies after all he’s been through to get to this point. His story is inspirational in so many ways. He has fought his entire life to live a dream most wouldn’t even have considered given the situation (he was born without fibulas). And then he stood up and fought a system that seemed determined to shut him out. What an incredible story. Best of luck, Oscar. Hope to see you in Beijing.
May 17th, 2008 @ 7:17 pm
I feel like most people who talk about this issue miss the point. They get caught up in the human interest story and forget that that doesn’t matter. Anyway, I wish people would just focus on the blades. Whether or not those generate an advantage for Oscar should be the only question we concern ourselves with:
http://optimaltraining.typepad.com/blog/2008/05/oscar-pistorius.html
I also made a site about Oscar that has tons of biographical info, videos, photos, interviews, links, stats, polls, and even a place to debate the question of whether or not Oscar should be able to compete in the Olympics. I hope you’ll check it out and join the debate!
http://www.squidoo.com/oscar_pistorius
May 19th, 2008 @ 7:29 am
Hi Bryan,
That’s an interesting post. I understand what you’re saying about the human interest story not being the point here. (I’m just really impressed with Oscar as a person.)
I thought the decision was overturned because there was no evidence that the Cheetah blades provided an advantage?
If Oscar isn’t allowed to run, then I don’t think the Speedo swim team should be able to that makes them go 3% faster… have you heard about that?
Thanks for your comment!