[timefinder]

What are you thoughts on this one?

http://www6.comcast.net/sports/articles/general/2008/01/14/OLY.RUN.IAAF.Pistorius/

 

[GradyPhilpott]

Regardless of the extreme rehabilitation that this young man has had to endure and the training necessary to even consider Olympic competition, the evidence that I have seen indicates that his prosthetics give him an advantage over the other athletes.

 

[boscoe]

An odd, but wonderful world, when a man with no legs can be considered to have an advantage in an athletic event. But he should be banned. At least the way I read the rules.

 

[wautersjr]

An odd, but wonderful world, when a man with no legs can be considered to have an advantage in an athletic event. But he should be banned. At least the way I read the rules.

I agree...

 

[Scott D]

Obviously a fantastic feat for the guy. But I agree with the IAAF's decision. I'm not a doctor or scientist in prosthetics, so I'll have to trust the reports that they do give him an edge. I'd also imagine those 'cheetah blades' are far lighter than a human leg. I'd imagine that alone would be an advantage..

 

[GradyPhilpott]

:lol: Cheetah Blades.

Brueggemann found that Pistorius was able to run at the same speed as able-bodied runners on about a quarter less energy. The professor said that once the runners hit a certain stride, athletes with artificial limbs needed less additional energy than other athletes.

The professor determined that the returned energy from the prosthetic blade is "close to three times higher than with the human ankle joint in maximum sprinting." The IAAF adopted a rule last summer prohibiting "technical aids" deemed to give an athlete an advantage.

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/7658380?MSNHPHCP&GT1=10838

It's very likely that these devices could be designed for those who have feet and it would almost certainly be deemed an advantage for a runner in that situation because of the added spring provided by the materials in the device.

If a normally endowed runner can't wear them, then neither should anyone else.

Athletics for the disabled seem to be highly organized and in a field of runners with these devices, the competition would be interesting, exciting, and most of all, fair.

 

[teddycook]

He gets the special leg that makes it more powerful than a normal one......not fair!