Another transhumanist - "Amputee Holds an Unfair Advantage"
Hans-Georg Michna
By JOSHUA ROBINSON
Published: January 10, 2008
The Olympic aspirations of Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee
sprinter from South Africa, may end soon. Track and field’s
world governing body is expected to announce that he is
ineligible to race against able-bodied athletes because his
state-of-the-art prosthetics give him an unfair advantage.
[Picture by Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters:
Oscar Pistorius finished second in the 400 meters during a meet
against able-bodied runners in Rome in July 2007.]
[Multimedia
Interactive Graphic
An Amputee Advantage
Related
Sports of The Times: Admirable Spirit, but Rules Are Rules
(January 10, 2008)
An Amputee Sprinter: Is He Disabled or Too-Abled? (May 15, 2007)
Video: Pistorius Placing Second in 400m. July 13, 2007
(YouTube)]
Pistorius was born without the fibula in his lower legs and with
other defects in his feet. He had both legs amputated below the
knee when he was 11 months old but has gone on to set Paralympic
world records in the 100, 200, and 400 meters. He has defeated
some able-bodied runners in his pursuit of attaining an Olympic
qualifying time, touching off international debate over what
constitutes disabled and able-bodied and how limits should be
placed on technology to balance fair play with the right to
compete.
The ruling by the International Association of Athletics
Federations, track’s governing body, was informed by a
scientific examination of Pistorius’s j-shaped, carbon-fiber
blades, known as Cheetahs, and his biomechanics. In November, he
was tested for three days in Cologne, Germany, under the
supervision of Peter Brueggemann, a professor at the German
Sport University. ...
Read the complete article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/sports/othersports/10track.html
Hans-Georg
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