Absolutely awesome!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18708365

This guy is a credit to SA. One of the most incredible feats of human achievement in our lifetime. I hope he wins Gold!

It's extremely unlikely he will even make the final, although I would applaud him if he does. He has shown tremendous courage, perseverance and determination to overcome his disability and get to where he is today.

His problem though, will not be so much that his blades give him any sort of advantage once he is running, rather that he will be the slowest to start any of his races. He will always be playing catch up and the further he goes in the competition, the higher the standard of opponent, the harder it will be. If he makes the Semi Final, he will have exceeded all expectation.

This is because he has no "fast twitch" muscle with which to get up and out of the blocks. His drive off the mark will have to be pushed by his upper limbs and I'm afraid that simply doesn't compare... or even come close to... the explosive thrust to be had from a working pair of Achilles tendons.

There was much concern over whether his blades would give him an advantage, but I was never convinced of that. Every athlete who ever lost a limb, and attempted to keep going with the use of blades has found his year after year season's best progressively going in the wrong direction. Nobody has ever become a better runner on blades than they were before they needed them.

But hats off to Oscar Pistorious. He has made history as the first runner to compete in the Parlympic and Olympic games. I don't think he dilutes the competition, rather, he adds to the Olympic Spirit. He has got there by virtue of his determination to overcome the odds.

Isn't that the whole point of the Olympics..?


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cool stuff

He's some man..........He shouldn't be allowed compete in the Paralympics as well though.......

John Cregan wrote:He's some man..........He shouldn't be allowed compete in the Paralympics as well though.......

Why not? He's not the first Paralympian to compete in able bodied competition - indeed, I don't think he's even the first South African to do so, as they had a female swimmer (du Toit?) who had lost the lower part of one of her legs in an accident yet competed certainly at a Commonwealth games and I'm pretty sure an Olympics.

I just think, having me the standard for the Olympics, that he should be disallowed from competing in the Paralympics...........to be fair to the other Paralympians..................

ok what would happen if these blades worked better at running faster than feet!!

my mind is going overdrive with that one

mystiroakey wrote:ok what would happen if these blades worked better at running faster than feet!!

my mind is going overdrive with that one

The do give an advantage - he's allowed to compete for political and political correctness reasons. He and Caster Semenya should not be competing if things were fair on an athletic basis.

The IAAF are simply avoiding an outcry by letting him compete, particularly given the fact that he's not going to win a medal, it actually turns into a very nice PR story for them. I reckon he could go close to the 800 WR though, but won't because it would just prove how much of an advantage those things give him.

djloves what i mean by that is by getting a world record from the blades, we could be in for some nasty times ahead

That's why they've got to be careful - it's fine while this one guy is running close to world class times but not quite there. It's when things start going crazy that they'll need to crack down.

The problem is that the precedent has been set now.

Gonna be hponest and say they shouldnt have allowed him to compete in the normal oylimpics- I know that may sound harsh..

mystiroakey wrote:Gonna be hponest and say they shouldnt have allowed him to compete in the normal oylimpics- I know that may sound harsh..

Calling them the "normal" Olympics probably isn't the smartest thing you've ever said either.

This is an extremely difficult issue, and one which has been bubbling under without real resolution for 8 years.

For my money he should be able to compete, unless athletes started consistently recording world leading times on blades.

mystiroakey wrote:djloves what i mean by that is by getting a world record from the blades, we could be in for some nasty times ahead

Indeed. If they really do give an advantage you'd probably see athletes getting amputations in order to go faster - plenty have tried PEDs despite the known side effects. Which suggests to me that the disadvantages of the blades still outweigh any advantages.

Of course he should be allowed to compete, it is not as if the blades are motorised. Of course this should be kept under review. Natalie de Troit competed in the normal Olympics with one leg in the swimming and I think managed to reach a final. Oscar is unlikely to get past the first round. If he gets past the first he is unlikely to get past the next round.

Now Natalie du Toit is something really special, and probably deserves more recognition than she gets - 10 Paralympic golds, 7 Commonwealth Games golds and competing not only in the able-bodied Olympics but in the longest distance swimming event (the 10km Marathon).

Shelsey93 wrote:This is an extremely difficult issue, and one which has been bubbling under without real resolution for 8 years.

For my money he should be able to compete, unless athletes started consistently recording world leading times on blades.

Would you let me compete with a rocket pack so long as I agree to come second?

Crimey wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:Gonna be hponest and say they shouldnt have allowed him to compete in the normal oylimpics- I know that may sound harsh..

Calling them the "normal" Olympics probably isn't the smartest thing you've ever said either.

dont be so ridiculas

djlovesyou wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:ok what would happen if these blades worked better at running faster than feet!!

my mind is going overdrive with that one

The do give an advantage - he's allowed to compete for political and political correctness reasons. He and Caster Semenya should not be competing if things were fair on an athletic basis.

The IAAF are simply avoiding an outcry by letting him compete, particularly given the fact that he's not going to win a medal, it actually turns into a very nice PR story for them. I reckon he could go close to the 800 WR though, but won't because it would just prove how much of an advantage those things give him.

The question of an advantage on blades is a thorny one, 'tis true, and in an 800 metres race it is likely that a runner on blades could have an advantage. I will explain why.

The physical mechanics of it are that Pistorius does, indeed, burn 17% less oxygen than able bodied athletes when running 400 Metres, and the energy loss from the blades is 9.3% while the ankle joints of able bodied runners lose more like 41%.

That is a significant difference but at the very pinnacle of the sport, it doesn't translate into an overwhelming advantage in the race because he is hampered in the early stages of the race, not by what he has, but by what he doesn't have.

You will notice that at the start of every race, he is the last off the blocks, and by quite a significant amount. He is also much slower to get up to optimum speed than other athletes for the simple reason he has no lower limbs.

An able bodied athlete has the "fast twitch" muscle around the heel that enables him to power out of the blocks and accelerate rapidly. Pistorius does not have this. He must come out of his blocks, lifting himself by using his upper leg muscles... principally his quadriceps. If you think that's easy, you try getting up from a crouching position using your upper legs only.

The same thing applies in the acceleration from 0-to-bloody-fast. Pistorius has to gather speed at a disadvantage and no matter how light, strong and flexible his blades are, they will never compensate for a fully functioning set of Achilles tendons and calf muscles.

For this reason, Pistorius is the only competitor who runs the last 200 metres faster than the first 200 metres. With able bodied athletes it is the other way round, but the simple fact of the matter is that over 400 metres, the two factors do, to a great extent, balance each other out. No clear overall 'advantage' can be accurately established.


It would be different over 800 metres. In an 800 metre race, everybody goes from a standing start so a runner using blades would not be hampered in that regard. The aerobic saving and energy transfer ratio of the blades would be more significant over the greater distance. In the case of an 800 metre race it is probable (as distinct from possible) that his blades could give him an advantage over able bodied runners.

In a 400 metre event it is not possible to conclusively prove that the blades give him a definite advantage over 400 metres and, as in any case where a person is excluded on legal grounds, it is for the 'prosecution' to prove their case. It is not for Pistorius to prove his innocence in the matter. In those circumstances the IOC had no choice but to allow him to compete once he made the qualifying time.

If anybody out there is suitably qualified, and is prepared to put their professional reputation to a statement saying Pistorius has an advantage over 400 metres, and state their scientific evidence for arriving at that conclusion, I would be interested to read it.


I sure as heck wouldn't put MY professional reputation on the line in this one, to keep Pistorius out of the Games.
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I've just remembered the NZ paraplegic athlete Neroli Fairhall. She won Gold in archery in the 1980 Paralympics, Gold in the 1982 Commonwealth Games archery, and competed in the 1984 LA Olympics. She missed the 1984 Paralympics, but was a competitor in 1972, 1988 and 2000.

I don't remember too many complaints about the advantages of shooting arrows sitting down though.

mystiroakey wrote:

Crimey wrote:

mystiroakey wrote:Gonna be hponest and say they shouldnt have allowed him to compete in the normal oylimpics- I know that may sound harsh..

Calling them the "normal" Olympics probably isn't the smartest thing you've ever said either.

dont be so ridiculas

There's no need to call them the "normal Olympics" and it's offensive.

There are the Olympics and the Paralympics. No need for the "normal" part.

Yes dady

Oscar Pistorius only just qualified for the Able bodied 400 meters, he is about 2 seconds off the best times he said in an interview the other day, his "blades" were tested in America and proven not to give him any advantage the 400 meter race is also in fact very dangerous for him as his balance and rythm is very important to maintain around the bends as any variation could see him fall.

I can't remember all the technical details but what jennifermcladyboy was saying earlier is close to the facts.

There is no justifiable reason for him not to run in the paralympics as he is a double amputee. The same tests were run about his oxygen usage beween amputeed athletes as with able bodied athletes and the variations found in his abilities was unique to him as an individual and not because of his blades.

The reality is where do we draw the line- there will be bionic legs down the line which could enable the athlete to go faster than normal, whats gonna happen- will we have techno cheats as well as drug cheats. Will we need F1 style regulations for these dudes. Will people be made up from 'normal' in some workshop in N korea

mystiroakey wrote:The reality is where do we draw the line- there will be bionic legs down the line which could enable the athlete to go faster than normal, whats gonna happen- will we have techno cheats as well as drug cheats. Will we need F1 style regulations for these dudes. Will people be made up from 'normal' in some workshop in N korea

There have been extensive tests to make sure his blades don't give him an advantage, if somebody used bionic legs that make them go quicker than they won't be allowed to enter. Simple as that.

Shame. what about the poor dudes with bionic legs in the future- will we have a superhero or bionic olympics

mystiroakey wrote:Shame. what about the poor dudes with bionic legs in the future- will we have a superhero or bionic olympics

Presumably if they wanted to compete in the Olympics/Paralympics they just wouldn't get their bionic legs.

It's like asking whether we should have a steroid Olympics.

Maybe we should- why not- gotta push the boundaries, however they are on the whole steroid olymipics anyways