Oscar Pistorius Decision
Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics. This decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sports overturned a previous decision by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) that barred him from trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. The South African can now compete for his Olympic national team.
Though many may feel that as an amputee should have a chance to realize his dream of competing in the Olympics, the question is, do his prosthetics give him an unfair advantage over non-disabled runners. His prosthetics may in fact mean that he is getting a larger return for his muscles work than someone without such prosthetics. If they do, is it fair to others competing to qualify. So far, no truly scientific testing has been done to insure the prosthetics provide no greater energy return than the human lower leg.
Until the necessary testing has been done to insure that prosthetics of this kind do not give an athlete like Oscar Pistorius an unfair competitive advantage, I feel disabled athletes with prosthetics similar to his, should not be allowed to compete and qualify for Olympic competition.
05/17/08 ( 90 )
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