To resurrect an earlier issue, with a current events twist:

Michael Johnson claims prosthetic legs unfair

quote:

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"My position is that because we don't know for sure whether he gets an advantage from the prosthetics that he wears it is unfair to the able-bodied competitors," Johnson said in the Telegraph story. "I consider Oscar a friend of mine, but he knows I am against him running."
Johnson continued to say that it isn't about Pistorius individually but about setting a precedent for other athletes that may follow his path in the future.
"[Team GB 400 runner] Roger Black made the best point on this whole thing," Johnson said. "What happens when we have a Michael Johnson, a 43-second 400-metre runner, who then has a horrific accident and then becomes a disabled athlete and then you put him on blades, these prosthetics, and he is now running 41 seconds?"

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As Michael Johnson predicted, the prosthetics HAVE become the issue, but from an interesting source, Pistorius himself!

”Oscar Pistorius claims prosthetic legs unfair”

quote:

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“Pistorius was convinced that the running blades Oliveira was using were too long, and called for the International Paralympic Committee to investigate.

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So, who determines exactly what length of blades gives exactly no advantage or disadvantage, and who’s to say it’s not a unique length for each para-athlete?

I admire Pistorius, but I don’t think it can ever be definitively established what length of prosthetic blades EXACTLY replace the ability he would have had without his amputation. A little too much blade, he’s advantaged. A little too short, he’s disadvantaged.

We’ll never know when the porridge is just right!



[This message has been edited by TX AG 88 (edited 9/3/2012 3:15p).]

Very fair points. Even if something were established...it's hard to imagine that every physical build would be advantaged equally by the same prostehtic. Would take some huge advances in human physiology.

Can you imagine when it moves beyond track? If someone uses Pistorious as precedent to try and play basketball on prosthetic legs? Or football? Or high jump?

Thumbs down for the IOC allowing him to compete in the Olympics. He's not working with the same set of legs as everyone else. Whether he is at an advantage is being debated between people involved in prosthetics and track.

I think SI ran a story during the Olympics where one guy believed Pistorius' blade legs made him 7 seconds faster than what he would be with a normal pair. I don't recall what he used to get those results.

In the same article it stated that he has to bounce out of the start and can't push off as well because of the blade legs.

His ability to swing his legs significantly faster than any two-legged runner is unfair and should DQ him from the Olympics.

The fact that he came out and complained about another guys blades pretty much tells you that he should be banned.

What standard would have made them unfair for the regular olympics?

If you can't tell, you don't compete. Tough break.