IAAF Ruling » Oscar Pistorius has an unfair advantage
As I wrote a month ago, the tests conducted on Oscar Pistorius‘ prosthetic legs show that he has an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes. The IAAF have ruled and determined to uphold the study and have barred Pistorius from competition.
The IAAF endorsed studies by German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann, who conducted tests on the prosthetic limbs and said they give Pistorius a clear competitive advantage over able-bodied runners.
“An athlete using this prosthetic blade has a demonstrable mechanical advantage [more than 30 percent] when compared to someone not using the blade,” the IAAF said.
I do not doubt that his “Cheetah” blades do give him a mechanical advantage over able-bodied athletes, but the more that I watch this case the more that I tend to doubt that the advantage he gains is enough to actually give him an advantage. It is so difficult to tell what is happening because he is literally the only athlete in this sort of a unique situation. Had he been born with every bone in his body that he was supposed to have, I have no doubt that he could possibly be contending for a spot on the Olympic team.
Pistorius and his coaches plan on challenging the ruling and will bring the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Oscar Pistorius is allowed back into international competition
- Oscar Pistorius Has An Unfair Advantage (Again)
- Oscar Pistorius banned by IAAF due to prosthetics
- IAAF agrees to work with Oscar Pistorius to test prosthetics
- Should prosthetics be banned from international competition?
April 9th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for your thoughtful post. I am an outside public relations consultant for Ossur, the company that makes Oscar’s Cheetahs, and their experts believe that he does NOT have an advantage, despite the fact that he is running on their product. They are behind him 100% in his plight.
I’m cutting and pasting the following from a press release, not pitching you, though:
“Looking for insights into this game-changing issue that raises scientific, ethical and philosophical questions, and for the past three months, ESPN’s investigative journalists have travelled the globe to learn more. They interviewed Oscar, his family, coach, prosthetist, friends, competitors, lawyers, and Ossur, too. They also interviewed Prof. Bruggemann, the German doctor who originally tested him on behalf of the IAAF.
What to see on April 15th:
- Good Morning America will air a segment between 7:00-9:00am
- ESPN’s E:60 will broadcast an 8-to-10 minute feature between 7-8pm.
- Nightline will look into the story at 11:30pm.
In addition, ESPN Magazine’s April 21st cover story will delve into Oscar’s case.”
Ossur hopes that ESPN will present objective findings and analyses on Oscar’s case, and wants everyone to become better informed because this is not a cut-and-dry issue, as you aptly pointed out.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Thanks for the update, Beverly. If there are any of these segments recorded and available online, please email them to me so that I can write about them. I don’t watch television and I don’t get any of the channels for the shows that you listed at home.