This is an absolutely fantastic story coming out of Track and Field. Paralympic gold medalist and world record holder Oscar Pistorius has been running with the big boys with some success but it appears that he may also be running into a bit of trouble with the IAAF because his carbon composite legs are too light and aerodynamic, something that it’s alleged gives him some kind of an advantage over able bodied runners.
The prosthetic legs that double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius races with provide less air resistance than normal legs, the IAAF has said.
Pistorius, who competed against elite able-bodied athletes for the first time on Sunday at the British Grand Prix, wears curved, carbon-fibre prosthetic legs when he races.
Hoping to be allowed to compete at the Beijing Olympics next year, Pistorius also ran in a “B” race in Rome on Friday, and finished second.
“The guy Oscar beat on Friday – the stride length was the same, but the speed through the air was slower for the able-bodied guy,” IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said.
One thing is for sure, science and technology is changing the nature of sport in unforseen ways, with the resulting upside being guys like Pistorius doing things that were unheard of only five years ago. I await the IAAF’s ruling on his participation in the able bodied games with interest.
4 responses so far ↓
Bring Back CL's blog // Jul 17, 2007 at 1:41 pm
you really are taking the pistorius out of us
Phil // Jul 17, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Absolutely not, South Africans are very serious people
Bring Back CL's blog // Jul 17, 2007 at 3:45 pm
now that is a black and white statement
Club Troppo » Missing Link - Dr Haneef Edition // Jul 18, 2007 at 9:17 pm
[...] Phil Gomes has a great piece on a disabled athlete who can out-run the able-bodied, and wants a spot at the Olympic Games (yes, you read that right; he’s already won everything at the Paralympics). [...]