Azazello1313 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 LONDON -- Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee who races on carbon fiber blades attached below his knees, will get a chance to prove himself against the best runners in the world. AP Photo/Fred Ernst Pistorius won the 200 meters at the Athens Paralympics and has also set world records in the Paralympic 100, 200 and 400. The 20-year-old South African will run the 400 meters at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Sheffield on Sunday in a field that includes Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner. Also entered are former Olympic relay gold medalist Darold Williamson of the United States, Commonwealth Games 400-meter champion John Steffensen of Australia and former 400-meter Olympic hurdles champion Angelo Taylor. "I've been chucked in the deep end with the best guys in the world," Pistorius said Tuesday. "There's a lot to learn. "There never has been a Paralympic sprinter to fuse the gap between able-bodied and disabled sport," he added. "The next single-amputee runs about 48 meters behind me on the 400 and the next double-amputee runs about 110 meters behind. So for me to break into this field is unique." Pistorius will get a first taste on Friday, when he runs in the second-tier "B" 400-meter race at the Golden League meet in Rome. Pistorius was born without fibulas -- the long, thin outer bone between the knee and ankle -- and was 11 months old when his legs were amputated below the knee. He began running four years ago to treat a rugby injury and nine months later won the 200 meters at the Athens Paralympics. He has gone on to set world records in the Paralympic 100, 200 and 400 but now wants a new challenge. Pistorius was given permission to race in able-bodied races by the International Association of Athletics Federations last month but still faces a struggle to take the step up to Olympic level amid claims the curved blades he runs on create an unfair advantage. "We just want to work with the IAAF and get this thing behind us," Pistorius said. "It has created a lot of negativity that we obviously get frustrated about. I'd like to see what tests they'd like to do and I'd comply with those tests. "There's absolutely no reason why they should keep me from running. These prosthetics have been around for 14 years, the exact same design. There's never been an amputee to run close to my time," he said. Pistorius has been running in meets with able-bodied athletes in his native South Africa for the past three years. In March, he finished second in the 400 meters at the South African Championships. His personal best in the 400 is 46.56 seconds and he hopes to race under 46 on Sunday. Five years from now, Pistorius wants to be running sub-45 times. Wariner has the fastest 400 time this year of 44.02 seconds, and Steffenson's best time in 2007 is 45.07. Michael Johnson holds the world record of 43.18. To make next year's Olympics in Beijing, Pistorius would have to run a 46.3 before the July 2008 qualifying deadline -- and get IAAF approval. "My goal is just to make the qualification standard for the Olympics," said Pistorius, who also wants to continue his Paralympic career. "Once I'm there, try and move it up. Hopefully, whether it's 2012 or 2016, make a final." When not racing, Pistorius wears prosthetics to fit his muscular frame and normal shoes. Each racing foot is made of about 50 to 80 layers of curved carbon fiber and weighs almost four pounds. Pistorius has attached a strip of sole from a pair of crappy shoes from spammers running spikes to the bottom of the blade, but it doesn't have a heel, so he struggles to stand for long periods while wearing his racing legs, called Cheetahs. "It's a passive foot," he said. "The energy that you give to compress the prosthetic isn't the same as what it gives out, so it definitely does not give me an unfair advantage. "If they ever could find evidence, then I would stop running. It's not something I would want to compete at if I knew I had an unfair advantage," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 F 'em if they don't let him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Sure he should be able to. He has had to overcome more obstacles than anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Call me politically incorrect, but I'm not so sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 F 'em if they don't let him. Sure he should be able to. He has had to overcome more obstacles than anyone. what if it gets to the point where he's breaking world records with his prosthetic carbon kangaroo feet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 what if it gets to the point where he's breaking world records with his prosthetic carbon kangaroo feet? then the other sprinters could cut off their legs and get the prosthetics too. Seriously though, I just don't see how they could deny this person. I am sure there would be some sort of public backlash over it. He would still need to run. It isn't like he would have the legs be poweredby motors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncosn05 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'm not sure whether I'm a yes or no but he should definetely be able to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'm not sure whether I'm a yes or no but he should definetely be able to participate. I'm pretty sure you're a yes then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I don't think this is a yes or no answer. Run some tests & tell us whether the spring would give him more push than is possible from a normal human. If it doesn't then there should be no reason to not let him in. Regardless I'd hate to be the one to tell him no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Absolutely not. He may or may not have an advantage. He's not the only guy who's doing this: that group of them should compete against each other with specific graphite/carbon ratios' or whatever the hell it would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonorator Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 "I choose not to run!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 I don't think this is a yes or no answer. Run some tests & tell us whether the spring would give him more push than is possible from a normal human. If it doesn't then there should be no reason to not let him in. Regardless I'd hate to be the one to tell him no. well regardless of the degree, in a normal human leg, that "push" is coming from the concentrated exertion of muscle applied to ligament and bone. in his "feet" the push is coming from an artificial spring mechanism. Absolutely not. He may or may not have an advantage. He's not the only guy who's doing this: that group of them should compete against each other with specific graphite/carbon ratios' or whatever the hell it would be. pretty much where i come down on this as well. whether it's more impressive or less impressive, harder or easier, is sorta beside the point. it's ultimately a different discipline, with different apparatus, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I say no. There is no way to measure the advantage/disadvantage of his prosthetics, and by using them the condidions for all the runners are no longer equal. He could have a technology advantage that the other runners can not have, And arguing that "They get to have legs" isn;t really a counter argument. This is about competing fairly in an avent, and nothing else. I felt the same way when the guy that couldn;t walk 18 holes wanted permission from the PGAto use a golf cart. Nope...sorry. walking the course introduces fatigue. You don;t get a free pass....either you can compete at what's on the table or you can't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Call me politically incorrect, but I'm not so sure. I agree. If this isn't mechanical assistance, what is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Tough call ...good arguments for both sides ..I honestly don't have an answer ...suddenly I feel like john kerry and want to eat ketchup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Give the guy a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Call me politically incorrect, but I'm not so sure. Sort of where I fell in. I felt that guy who challenged the PGA about using a cart should have been allowed to do so because, ultimately, the cart wasn't giving him an advantage over anyone else who wasn't injured. That's not enough reason not to allow this. In this case, however, it is hard to determine if these legs actually make him faster than a normal human. Banning steroids has already set a precedent that the olympics are a competition between humans that have not been altered unnaturally. One would have to say that putting springs in your legs would qualify as that. If dude wants to race against other top sprinters, he should have no problem finding chances to do so and even make a tidy sum at that. Hell, we'll televise a bunch of midgets trying to pull an airplane faster than an elephant, I can imagine that he can get a race against the top sprinters in the world. I suppose this comes down to the fact that people are freaking weird. Weird enough that I fear for the precedent that it would set. If this were allowed, I can imagine that it wouldn't be long before some started getting spring implants in their knees and crap like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 the cart wasn't giving him an advantage over anyone else who wasn't injured. I have to ask if you golf, because this statement is inaccurate. Walking the 7000-8000 yards a day for 4 straight days, standing for hours in whatever weather for 4 days straight takes a toll on a person. Sure, it's not playing a football game, but feet start to ache, backs tighten up, fatigue sets in. Why should one guy get to ride in a cart for the 4 days and not have to deal with these issues? I work out 6 days a week and despite the MH pictures I provided am actually in pretty good condition, and when I finish walking a round of 18 I am wiped out. After riding 18, no problem. And my shot definitely falls off with fatigue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 so you're saying walking a mile and a half in 5 hours makes you "fatigued"? i actually thought the PGA shoulda let that guy compete with a cart, but i can see why they didn't. in any case, i think that's VERY different from the present situation. i think you'd have to admit that how you get from one shot to another in golf is a little less fundamental to your performance than the entire physical mechanism by which you run is to track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I suppose this comes down to the fact that people are freaking weird. Weird enough that I fear for the precedent that it would set. If this were allowed, I can imagine that it wouldn't be long before some started getting spring implants in their knees and crap like that. Or swimmers getting webbing added to their hands and feet surgically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 then the other sprinters could cut off their legs and get the prosthetics too. The Barry Bonds argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godtomsatan Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I say yeah, just because it would be great theatre if/when the legs come flying off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 so you're saying walking a mile and a half in 5 hours makes you "fatigued"? i actually thought the PGA shoulda let that guy compete with a cart, but i can see why they didn't. in any case, i think that's VERY different from the present situation. i think you'd have to admit that how you get from one shot to another in golf is a little less fundamental to your performance than the entire physical mechanism by which you run is to track. 8000 yards is not a mile and a half. 8000 feet is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) I say yeah, just because it would be great theatre if/when the legs come flying off. . Edited July 11, 2007 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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