This young fellow, Oscar Pistorius, also taggede the Bladerunner, had both legs amputated below the knees as a babe.
He now competes as a world-class runner using blade-like legs.
The Olympic Committee just decided his fake legs constitued 'aid from a mechanical device' and so ruled he'd not be allowed to compete in the Bejing Olympics.
There was some testing done to make a determination if the legs did indeed provide an advantage, but seems they were a bit inconclusive as to the extent:
Quote:
Pistorius insisted that his blades offered him no advantage. He said: “There’s been talk about the blades being bionic but this model is what we call a passive foot.
“The output energy is not as much as the input energy, so the energy you take to compress the prosthetic isn’t what it gives out, which means it definitely does not give an unfair advantage.â€
Film of his race in Rome, which formed part of the research, showed, however, that, unlike able-bodied runners, he was able to cover the second half of the race much faster than the first, reaching his top speed around the final bend.
“The output energy is not as much as the input energy, so the energy you take to compress the prosthetic isn’t what it gives out, which means it definitely does not give an unfair advantage.â€
Film of his race in Rome, which formed part of the research, showed, however, that, unlike able-bodied runners, he was able to cover the second half of the race much faster than the first, reaching his top speed around the final bend.
and, from another source:
Quote:
A scientific study revealed that Pistorius, nicknamed "Blade Runner", used 25% less energy than able-bodied runners to run at the same speed.
Should he be allowed to compete in the Olympics if there is no hard evidence of the prosthetics giving an advantage?
...what about conclusive evidence?
Are Oscar's prosthetics an unfair advantage simply by virtue of being mechanical?
...or, are they part of him as much as anyone elses legs, and as long as his achievements are met through training, hard work and inate talent (versus steroids) he should have the same right to compete with other with other fully limbed athletes?
STORY
, They win meddles and sponsahship dealz