CNN is reporting the story of double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who will compete for South Africa in the 400m and on the 4x400m relay squad:
“I have a phenomenal team behind me who have helped get me here and will now put everything we can into the final few weeks of preparations before the Olympic Games where I am aiming to race well, post good times and maybe even a personal best time on the biggest stage of them all.”
Pistorius, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old due to a bone defect, runs on special carbon fiber blades from which his nickname “The Blade Runner” derives.
He will become the first Paralympian to compete in track and field at the able bodied Olympics.
London 2012 should be very exciting. What events are you most looking forward to?
AP Photo/Matt Dunham
Good for him, but should he not be competeing in a separate catagory to those using feet? Do able bodied runners have the option of using blades?
So after delving into the Wikipedia article on this guy, it sounds like he got the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a ban on his use of the blades. They confer some serious, noticeable advantages over able-bodied runners, though also some serious, noticeable disadvantages. The Court decided it all evened out, but it doesn’t really seem like they had a lot of data to go on to reverse the ban. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is challenged again on this matter in the future, especially if more amputees begin to compete in able-bodied sports.