Thread: 'Blade runner' Pistorius handed dream double Olympic ticket

This is going to sound bad but I don't think he should be allowed to compete with everyone else. My objection with him participating in the Olympics is based solely on the fact that we cannot say without a doubt that his legs do not give him an advantage. At face value one might think, how the hell is not having legs an advantage in running?

Well if you think about it, his prosthetic legs look lighter, which allows him to move them faster. Also if you look at the prosthetic legs he uses, you can see that they may have a spring advantage, which could allow him to propel his body forward easier. I'm not saying that any of this is fact, they're simply my observations and IMO there are too many variables to conclude without a doubt that he does not have an advantage over the other runners.

Just by looking at the picture, who is to say that his prosthetic legs do not provide more "spring" than the other runners legs. Can't his prosthetic legs be intentionally made more flexible to make it easier to propel himself forward?




'Blade runner' Pistorius handed dream double Olympic ticket - CNN.com

He shouldn't be allowed to compete. Yes he's inspiring but like Mafioso said, there's no way to ascertain if the prostetics give him an advantage or not.

Oscar Pistorius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In November 2007, Oscar was invited to take part in a series of scientific tests at the Cologne Sports University under the guidance of Professor of Biomechanics Dr Peter Brüggemann in conjunction with Mr Elio Locatelli, who was responsible with the IAAF of all technical issues. After two days of tests Brüggemann reported on his findings on behalf of the IAAF. The report claimed that Pistorius's limbs used 25% less energy than runners with complete natural legs to run at the same speed, and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body.^[34] In December, Brüggemann told Die Welt newspaper that Pistorius "has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear."[

While inspiring... He clearly has an advantage.

He was eventually allowed to compete b/c it was ruled that the test didn't take into consideration what disadvantages he 'might' have when starting and taking corners. But based upon the straight line tests, it's obvious he enjoys a real adavntage.

iaaf.org - Pistorius is eligible for IAAF competition

The CAS Panel has today delivered its decision. It has decided that, at the moment, not enough is known scientifically to be able to prove that Mr Pistorius obtains an advantage from the use of the prostheses. Consequently, it has cleared him to run.

Sounds like politics to me.


http://web.archive.org/web/200805290...website%29.pdf

Read point 50 and it's clear he enjoys both a biomechanical and aerobic advantage over runners w/o prosthetics.

It's too bad b/c he's a real inspiration and this cloud of indecision will only diminish that.

lets see him do hurdles!