Pistorius has unfair advantage according to new study
Nov 19th, 2009 by Bivio
Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter from South Africa, was cleared to race against able-bodied athletes in the Beijing Olympics a year and a half ago. Now, however, a new study argues that his prosthetic legs may give him an unfair advantage after all.
In a paper to be published Thursday in The Journal of Applied Physiology, the researchers Peter Weyand and Matthew Bundle say that the prosthetics, known as Cheetahs, allow Pistorius to turn over his strides more quickly and with more power than a runner with biological legs.
Weyand said “He’s got these light legs, and he can reposition them faster than anybody ever measured by a lot” He added that Pistorius is “able to reposition his limbs 15 to 16 percent faster than the last five 100-meter world-record holders.”
Five other researchers who examined Pistorius last year maintained in a Counterpoint section of the paper that the prosthetics did not confer any advantage. They stressed that with a sample size of one elite double-amputee — Pistorius — there was not enough evidence to demonstrate that the Cheetahs offered an advantage. They suggested that Pistorius’s abnormally high performance level could be because of his developing an extremely effective technique to run with the prosthetics.
The debate over Pistorius’s prosthetic blades has raged for more than two years, ever since he began posting times close to the Olympic qualifying benchmark. Unsure that the Cheetahs were legal, the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field’s world governing body, initially barred him from able-bodied competition.
After a series of tests commissioned by the I.A.A.F. determined that the blades were acting as springs and helping him consume less energy, the ban was upheld.
The debate may continue amongst scientists and administrators, but the fact remains that he is an excellent athlete and an inspiration for many people.
Source: NY Times
