Amputee sprinter ruled ineligible for Olympics

[echostation]

exactly I thought special olympics were for mentally challenged people, not physically disabled but am i wrong?

 

[November Rain]

This i find is incredibly unfair.

Perhaps he should be able to compete with these athletes directly at this stage.

The technology he uses for sprinting is nowhere near the stage where he can actually compete for a medal position so what is the beef?

All he wants to do is run in a field where he can push himself. The records he's continually broken haven't been based on the advancement of his leg technology rather than his fitness as a human being.

I say put him in there, if you are losing to a guy with no legs at the olympics, then one has to seriously wonder whether you deserve to be there at all.

When the technology becomes comparable to actual full bodied leg strength, then take it in for questioning.

 

[Captain_BluTac]

if he just had a normal fake leg you would have a point NR but he has a blade which is pretty much giving him a pogo leg

 

[November Rain]

I honestly don't know why people attribute sprinting records to much more than advancements of technical gear and muscle supplements rather than training and fitness or just a general fluke. Its not like athletes are consistently running at those levels. 100 meter times fluctuate considerable between 9.77 to 10.3 even at the highest leves so...meh.

 

[November Rain]

if he just had a normal fake leg you would have a point NR but he has a blade which is pretty much giving him a pogo leg

meh, counter the tension so his leaps are comparable with an athletes or the worst athlete that has entered the competion so all the ground he covers CAN be attributed to how quick he can whip his legs round.

if they have issues with the weight, then make them heavier.

I'm an engineer, these things aren't difficult, we spend are days trying to make things lighter and more efficient. making things harder is a pile of piss.

 

[Jerry!]

Again, not everyone can be an Olympian. That is just the way it is.

 

[Ghostvirus]

No he's not. If that were true he would have already had a strong case. Look at how many runners get busted for this stuff, just over the past few years.

If that is the case, then I say let him in.

 

[primemover]

This i find is incredibly unfair.

Perhaps he should be able to compete with these athletes directly at this stage.

The technology he uses for sprinting is nowhere near the stage where he can actually compete for a medal position so what is the beef?

All he wants to do is run in a field where he can push himself. The records he's continually broken haven't been based on the advancement of his leg technology rather than his fitness as a human being.

I say put him in there, if you are losing to a guy with no legs at the olympics, then one has to seriously wonder whether you deserve to be there at all.

When the technology becomes comparable to actual full bodied leg strength, then take it in for questioning.

From the article:

'Brueggemann found that Pistorius was able to run at the same speed as able-bodied runners on about a quarter less energy. The professor said that once the runners hit a certain stride, athletes with artificial limbs needed less additional energy than other athletes.

The professor determined that the returned energy from the prosthetic blade is "close to three times higher than with the human ankle joint in maximum sprinting." The IAAF adopted a rule last summer prohibiting "technical aids" deemed to give an athlete an advantage.'

This spells it out, if anything he's in a different category. The professor above says he gets benefits other runners don't enjoy due to the blades, but then again, there are probably quantifiable disadvantages he has that able bodies athletes don't have. It really isn't quantifiable, so he shouldn't compete.

 

[November Rain]

So this isn't really about whether or not an amputee could race, it's rather about the usage of his blades...

again with so much time before the start of the actual olympics, such a thing could easily be re--designed. Again, it's very easy to make something less efficient/stiffer

and is the energy they are talking about relative to the weight of the athletes or compared to a normal built sprinter? Surely if he weighs less, he's bound to use up less total energy but then again it's all relative.

the best tests would be to see how athletes who only use one of those blades are handling it when they have another leg to race with.

again, allowing him to compete is one thing, making him feasible for medal contention is another. He's destroyed all the records of his own sport and needs new challenges. Taking away an athlete's opportunity to better themselves is like a fate worse than death.

I see this in the same light of seeing a female athlete completely destroying her field and wishing to race against male ones in order to push record boundaries etc. She may not be eligible for a male gold medal but can sill set female record times.

 

[primemover]

again, allowing him to compete is one thing, making him feasible for medal contention is another. He's destroyed all the records of his own sport and needs new challenges. Taking away an athlete's opportunity to better themselves is like a fate worse than death.

So hold a charity race, do some freakshow thing on fox, this is not the thing for the Olympics. His addition to the Olympics would keep out another athlete that deserves to be there, how is that fair?

I see this in the same light of seeing a female athlete completely destroying her field and wishing to race against male ones in order to push record boundaries etc. She may not be eligible for a male gold medal but can sill set female record times.

Again, not in the Olympics, there are other avenues.

 

[Jerry!]

I've been saying the same thing over and over again and it's the most simple explanation: NOT EVERYONE CAN BE AN OLYMPIAN. Even if it's because of factors you can't control. I'm sorry, it is just the harsh truth.

 

[The Evolutionist]

The Special Olympics are for the mentally challenged. Didn't anyone see The Ringer?

Too many people fail to tell the difference between the Special Olympics and the Para-Lympics.

 

[November Rain]

So hold a charity race, do some freakshow thing on fox, this is not the thing for the Olympics. His addition to the Olympics would keep out another athlete that deserves to be there, how is that fair?

Again, not in the Olympics, there are other avenues.

This is a complete double standard. Why should he be allowed to compete in other races but not the olympics, surely the same racing governing bodies should have the same laws throughout.

It's the biggest sporting event in the world (bar perhaps the football world cup) or at least the biggest event for athletes to showcase their talents.

At this moment, his 'current' blades give him an advantage BUT there's time for blades to be built that may not give him such an advantage. If they can't be built or he can't adapt to them by the cut off date then fair enough. If he can AND he makes the qualification times then in my eyes, he's earnt his right to be there.

How many american drug doping medal winning olympians have been allowed in and forced out people who may have deserved to be there on a equal pegging.

 

[primemover]

This is a complete double standard. Why should he be allowed to compete in other races but not the olympics, surely the same racing governing bodies should have the same laws throughout.

Maybe they're just coming to their senses due to new information, this is a new phenomena.

It's the biggest sporting event in the world (bar perhaps the football world cup) or at least the biggest event for athletes to showcase their talents.

Yes, on an equal playing fields, which includes not using certain devices to enhance performance, no matter what the situation. For the Olympics this includes, "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device".

In boxing that'd include brass knuckles(for those born without knuckles), in the shotput a cannon for those born without hands, or even stilts in the high jump, for those born short.

At this moment, his 'current' blades give him an advantage BUT there's time for blades to be built that may not give him such an advantage. If they can't be built or he can't adapt to them by the cut off date then fair enough. If he can AND he makes the qualification times then in my eyes, he's earnt his right to be there.

How would they measure that, just crap up the technology enough so he 'isn't' world class, you don't see a problem with this?

How many american drug doping medal winning olympians have been allowed in and forced out people who may have deserved to be there on a equal pegging.

And they don't allow that either, what's your point?

 

[November Rain]

Maybe they're just coming to their senses due to new information, this is a new phenomena.

meh

Yes, on an equal playing fields, which includes not using certain devices to enhance performance, no matter what the situation. For the Olympics this includes, "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device".

In boxing that'd include brass knuckles(for those born without knuckles), in the shotput a cannon for those born without hands, or even stilts in the high jump, for those born short.

Brass, knuckles and a canon don't mimic the behavoiur of human anatomy. If they properly did, then i don't see a problem with it.

If one is born with a full range of body parts, they should work with what they have, try like everyone else and be satisfied with their attempts.

If one is born without that ability to even 'try', then i believe it is a problem and we have a duty to try to include these individuals without putting others at a risk.

It's very rare in this day to day to not categorise people and the majority of us would crave to be not accepted a a black/white/handicaped/female/christian/islamic individual but just as an individual and be seen as equal.

Again, if they are ruling out the use of his blades, that's fine but to not let him compete without any alternative is a shame.

How would they measure that, just crap up the technology enough so he 'isn't' world class, you don't see a problem with this?

the problem they have is with the 'relative' consumption of energy used up in the body etc...

everyone knows the addition of more resistance means one has to work harder to perform the equivalent task without them.

so give him more to do by making the structures harder and a stride rate equivalent to the worst competitor. Also approximate the foot surface area to have that of the largest /smallest foot (dependant on what is better).

so yeah, he has a base level 'advantage' in the way blades can be created to make him faster slower.

But i feel if you have blades that make the average runner go at 10.8 on a 100meters and he's runnig 9.8, then he should fully deserve to reach the final based on him pushing his body as hard as the others (as long as the same amount of relative energy is used up).

I mean look at it this way, in the para-olympics all the records he's smashed one could argue has been based to the evolution of prostetic technology over the years rather than natural talent although those records still remain firm. And the same can be said for a lot of track records been based on teh cuvature of the track, starting blocks, electornic gun feeds coming from behind you, runing spikes and racing gear as well as the tolerances in windspeed calculation as well as precise recording aparatus.

I've raced against guys with blocks and spikes when i've only had trainers and it's a serious ***** but they weren't penalised and it stood.

And they don't allow that either, what's your point?

The point is that racing and all these records and great achievements are always lying in the doubt of performer enhancing material. The illusion of fairness that is there when one step's onto the track isn't there and it's not fair that people should be calling this dude out on an advantage when they are all pumped up their eyeballs on either legal or illegal performance enchancing paraphenalia (sp?).

 

[comicgirl]

That would be like wearing that new japanese exo-skeleton that increases strength/power (even if you have a disorder which makes you lose muscle compacity) and entering a weight lifting competition.

only if you needed the skeleton to live

 

[Superwoman Prime]

If an amputee wants to run in the Olympics, let him, I say.