Oscar Pistorius – Can Emi into World Championship?

[Mirage_GSM]

Is it really that easy? Because I am under the impression that he gives it his all every race, and his prostheses are tuned for maximum performance. That would be his "real" ability. But if what you're saying is true, this means that his legs are being specifically tuned to make him competitive with the other runners. In that case, I can see where your concerns are coming from.

I don't think that's what he's saying. The prosthetics are probably as good as they can make them right now.
His point is that
a) it is not possible to accurately say whether he is at an advantage or at a disadvantage in a race, so it is impossible to compare his times to those of the other athletes, and
b) if next year his prosthetics are improved, he might run better times without any change in his physical condition.
Remember in those races, a second might mean the difference between a gold medal and not qualifying for the finals (not sure what distance he's running, so please adjust accordingly.)

[papillion]

I would like to point out that the international court of arbitration for sport has only allowed Oscar to compete with his currant Cheetah feet. If changes are made to them Oscars running style needs to be revaluated to try and determine if he gets an unfair advantage. Also the same Cheetah feet are available to all paralympic amputees. 75% of paralympic amputees use them.


One of the arguments levelled against Oscar is that he saves energy because his carbon fibre feet store more energy, and return it more efficiently. If this is the case then Amputees who run in the 800 meters should have a bigger advantage as the longer the race the more important energy efficiency is. The record for an amputee is 25 seconds slower than the fastest able bodied runner in the 800 meters.

When Oscar was 17 he broke a paralympic record for the 100 meter sprint. He had only been training seriously for three months. This was before he used the more advanced Cheetah feet, though I am sure he must have been using good running feet.


There are many other Good amputee runners who train very hard and run really fast times. But Oscar is the only one fast enough to qualify for elite able bodied competitions. If artificial legs were giving amputees a clear advantage then you would expect to see them braking records. This is not happening because the cheetah feet are designed to mimic a normal foot. They don’t make people superhuman as some believe.



The scientists who studied Oscar while he runs are divided on the subject of whether he has an advantage. But the majority thinks he does not get an advantage over able bodied runners. I understand why people are uncomfortable with Oscar competing in able bodied events. I agree that it is impossible to measure exactly what his carbon fibre feet allow him to do. But I think it’s ridiculous to say he may as well ride a motorbike when he runs.

I would love to see oscar compete in the Olympics. I do not believe that he gains an advantage from his feet. But I have no problem with others who disagree. I just hope they understand that Oscar is a marvellous athlete.

I have just had an article published about Oscar on the DiVine Website you can check it out here http://www.divine.vic.gov.au/main-site/ ... oryId,5669