Amputee sprinter ruled ineligible for the olympics

CHOPTALK · Jan 15, 2008

MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) - All his life, Oscar Pistorius has confronted obstacles. The double-amputee sprinter from South Africa now faces another one — a decision barring him from the Olympics.

Track and field's governing body ruled Monday he is ineligible to compete this summer in Beijing — or any other sanctioned able-bodied competitions — because his "Cheetah" racing blades are "technical aids" that give him a clear advantage.
"An athlete using this prosthetic blade has a demonstrable mechanical advantage (more than 30 percent) when compared to someone not using the blade," the International Association of Athletics Federations said.

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/st...PHCP&GT1=10838

BEANTOWNJIM · Jan 15, 2008

I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THEM ON THIS ONE ITS NOT NATURAL.

I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF RUNNERS PULL UP LAME WITH A SORE CALF MUSCLE THIS GUY DOESNT HAVE ANY SO HE IS AT AN OBVIOUS ADVANTAGE.THATS WHY WE HAVE SPECIAL OLYMPICS

HiPockets · Jan 15, 2008

I agree with exclusion here ("we want this to be competition among athletes, not designers"), but admire this guy's accomplishments and hope he find's other venues.
Not sure it matters but ABC news, like Fox, writes that the guy is a 'double amputee' but then airs a segment saying he was born without lower legs:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4128696

TomGshotput · Jan 15, 2008

He was born without lower legs, then had more of them cut off

If he want to compete why doesn't he just wear prosthetics that the IOC says are ok?

(I know the answer, just bringing up the point)