boston globe
The 400m is a difficult race. Too long for a full sprint, too short for a long distance. 46.56 is excellent. The prothetics may or may not be an advantage.
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Amputee Sprinter Tries For Olympics
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The 400m is a difficult race. Too long for a full sprint, too short for a long distance. 46.56 is excellent. The prothetics may or may not be an advantage.
Wow, that is amazing.
I can't do the 400 m, so I do have a lot of respect for him. I can do the 100 m, though, although he'd probably beat me at that, too.
I can't do the 400 m, so I do have a lot of respect for him. I can do the 100 m, though, although he'd probably beat me at that, too.
This guys from South Africa, woo! I've seen him sprint before. I've also seen him @ the dentist once
Being a potential Olympian and one of the fastest 400 m runners on Earth, this man should certainly not be eligible for handicap parking spots.
I can remember reading an interview with Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson after she retired from competition about this. The gist of it was that it's absurd that a 'disability' could rule him (Pistorius) out of the Olympics because it gives him an unfair competitive advantage.
Blade Runner: One man's amazing race to take part in the Olympics - The Independent
Blade Runner: One man's amazing race to take part in the Olympics - The Independent
I was reading in the local newpapers that there were also issues of lactic acid seeing as Oscar has no calves he cannot get lactic acid build up or whatever in his calves and therefore will have an unfair advantage over competitors. His defense was that seeing as his calves do not carry lactic acid there must be another part of his body that does, this being his back, and therefore he is not at a serious advantage vs. other competitors.
Other full legged athletes have the same issues, plus the issues of calves, achilles, knees etc. I'm sure he has his own other issues, but he has bypassed quite a few common ones
His prosthetics have replaced his calves, which may or may not be better at being legs than legs themselves.
I'm sure I read somewhere that humans are not entirely built that well for exercise. His single pieces of metal seem much better designed that the complex array of tendons, muscles, bones that others have.
Wow, much respect for that guy. I suppose I would lean towards the "let him compete" side of the fence. BTW, personal best of 50.2
I saw him race yesterday, he finished last by some distance. The commentator suggested that the weather might have hindered him the track was very wet so he was having trouble with his grip and traction it seems.
The commentator also mentioned that he had a suspicion that one of his prosthetics might have crossed into a neighbouring lane but wasn't certain. We turned over before a decision was made so I can't confirm this, though.
I saw this on the news the other day.
And I really do want to root for him and say he should compete in the "able bodied" olympics, but...
I don't think he should.
First off, I realized the only reason I originally thought he should is because I thought that he was "rising" to the level of those with legs. That he was pulling himself out of the "gutter" as the auther so put it, and trying to complete with "real" athletes. That's utter BS.
The problem I see is this: Inevitably prosthetic legs with undeniably be faster than human legs, at least when designed for a particular race. So why include then in a race now?
The only way I can agree with this is if he was allowed, through money or privilege, some prosthetic that other disabled athletes did not have access to, and thus were getting creamed by this guy in races. But then my motivation for wanting him to compete against those with legs would be so the other disabled athletes had a fighting chance.
I hope no one thinks me inconsiderate. I can try and explain my view better if need be...
Perhaps there are some facets here I'm not understanding.
And the 400m IS a sprint, btw. Those runners don't change their pace, unless they are speeding up. In highschool they slow down, but that's the reason a guy at ours killed everyone else, he started off the blocks in a full fledged sprint...and ended the race even faster. He now takes top marks at Western Washington Uni
And I really do want to root for him and say he should compete in the "able bodied" olympics, but...
I don't think he should.
First off, I realized the only reason I originally thought he should is because I thought that he was "rising" to the level of those with legs. That he was pulling himself out of the "gutter" as the auther so put it, and trying to complete with "real" athletes. That's utter BS.
The problem I see is this: Inevitably prosthetic legs with undeniably be faster than human legs, at least when designed for a particular race. So why include then in a race now?
The only way I can agree with this is if he was allowed, through money or privilege, some prosthetic that other disabled athletes did not have access to, and thus were getting creamed by this guy in races. But then my motivation for wanting him to compete against those with legs would be so the other disabled athletes had a fighting chance.
I hope no one thinks me inconsiderate. I can try and explain my view better if need be...
Perhaps there are some facets here I'm not understanding.
And the 400m IS a sprint, btw. Those runners don't change their pace, unless they are speeding up. In highschool they slow down, but that's the reason a guy at ours killed everyone else, he started off the blocks in a full fledged sprint...and ended the race even faster. He now takes top marks at Western Washington Uni
All in all, I believe that this was the right call. While it is questioned whether these blades give him a mechanical advantage or not, I think the situation is a slippery slope that the IAAF did not want to start down.A little update:
Fox
Well he won't be able to compete. Those amputees just cant get a break sometimes.
I agree with not letting him compete as well. Whether he has an advantage, or even a disadvantage....the fact of the matter is that we want things to be as equal as possible, and for running, having 2 legs and no performance-enhancing drugs in your body seems to be the things you must have to compete. We can't really prove that he doesn't have an advantage, but I don't think we need to.
By same logic: "of course he should be allowed to run in the regural olympics while using anabolic steroids, since having lower halves of his legs missing gives him more of an disadvantage".
Yes, the guy is disabled. Does that mean that if he wants to compete against non-disabled, he should be allowed to use technology to gain benefit that the other contestants do not have? No.
i saw a report on TV about it a few days ago where they explained (backed by simulations/studies from some german university) how his prostheses have a much higher ratio of "power put in - power coming out" and thus work more like a spring...
i think the numbers were around 80% of power gained back for the artifical leg and 45% for leg of a top athlete (and much less for a normal person)
so a normal athlete has to waste a lot more energy on getting the same forward thrust
seems like quite a significant advantage
i think the numbers were around 80% of power gained back for the artifical leg and 45% for leg of a top athlete (and much less for a normal person)
so a normal athlete has to waste a lot more energy on getting the same forward thrust
seems like quite a significant advantage
I think it's quite sad that people are claiming he has an unfair advantage in the Olympics and he should only be allowed at the special Olympics, as if his prosthesis gave him an advantage in the "regular" Olympics then surely no one at the special Olympics should be able to use it either, thus making the whole thing invalid.
Well I think the "special" olympics is only for the mentally handicapped isn't it?
Right, he'd be participating in the Paralympics (ParaOlympics?), which takes place in the same venues a week or two after the Olympics.