Oscar Pistorius was found to have a mechanical advantage over able-bodied athletes last December. In January, he was banned from international competition by the IAAF, Track & Field’s governing body.

Oscar PistoriusOscar challenged the ruling before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. They felt that the rule that was in question (IAAF Rule 144.2(e): use of any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a devise) was enacted specifically with Pistorius in mind and that the results of last year’s study were biased against him.

CAS did not feel that there was enough evidence one way or the other to justify banning Pistorius from competition, which means that he is free to run in the Olympic Games this Summer if he can run a fast enough qualifying time.

IAAF President Lamine Diack has made the following comment:
“The IAAF accepts the decision of CAS and Oscar will be welcomed wherever he competes this summer. He is an inspirational man and we look forward to admiring his achievements in the future.”

Oscar PistoriusI still feel that he probably does have a mechanical advantage from his “Cheetah” blades, but I also doubt that that advantage offsets the disadvantage that he has from 20% to 25% less blood volume than folks who have both legs.

If he does run, and does manage to win a medal or even set a record, then how do you handle the situation? If it takes 2 or 3 years to determine any advantages that he may or may not have, can you retroactively reach back from that point to award the proper person their honors? Or do you withhold those honors from Pistorius while you continue to do the research? Which is the more problematic situation?

For myself, I hope that he does do well. I don’t want him to beat any Americans, of course, but I’d like to see him do well behind us, if only to force the IAAF and the research scientists to come to a definitive conclusion and to stop dragging this out.

Of course, the real question now is whether or not he can even qualify to run in the Olympics or not. What are your predictions?

(More Info: IAAF)