Oscar Pistorius, the 21-year-old South African sprinter and double amputee, has been cleared to seek a qualifying time for the 2008 Olympics by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Pistorius has run 400 meters in 46.46 seconds, about a second slower than the Olympic "A" standard of 45.55, and half second slower than the "B" standard. It seems to be quite a long shot for him to run an individual qualifying time in the next several weeks. However, if South Africa qualifies a 4x400m relay team, the country could select Pistorius to compete.
I heard the news on WEEI, normally not a big source of international Track and Field news. Here's a link to BBC coverage of the decision.
An excerpt from that article:
"On the basis of the evidence brought by the experts called by both parties, the panel was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage in favour of the double amputee using the Cheetah Flex-Foot."
"The panel does not exclude the possibility that, with future advances in scientific knowledge, and a testing regime designed and carried out to the satisfaction of both parties, the IAAF might in future be in a position to prove that the existing Cheetah Flex-Foot model provides Oscar Pistorius with an advantage over other athletes."
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2 comments:
I thought that he had a lot better times in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Or am i thinking of someone else.
According to Wikipedia, Pistorius has run 10.91 for 100m and 21.58 for 200m, both paralympic world records, but not world-class for "able-bodied" runners.
The controversy, in a nutshell, is that the carbon fiber blades he uses when he runs store and return more energy than the human feet and lower legs do, enabling him to maintain or even increase his speed in the long sprints (and make up for his relatively slow starts).
Letsrun.com has a thread about whether he would be even better at the 800m.
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