I am not surprised at the recent ruling on Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who was barred from able-bodied competition in January. Tests done on the performance of his carbon fibre “blades” has shown that there is a disadvantage against able-bodied runners, by returning energy to the sprinter. This would allow Pistorius to expend about 25% less energy than an able-bodied sprinter, for a given race.
The Olympics are a competition, based on the raw capabilities of a human, without the aid of devices, drugs or changes to the human form. By racing with “blades”, this essentially would allow “bionics” to take over. Who is to say that the surgical implant of titanium prostheses wouldn’t taint the capabilities of competitors?
I am glad that the IAFF ruled against Pistorius, and I hope that the Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds the same ruling. We have enough problems with “performance enhancers” in professional sports…we don’t need the Olympics to be tainted as well.
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