Amputee Ineligible for Beijing Olympic Events
- added January 14, 2008
- 3 responses
-
-
-
- bstein
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- Sports (4792)
- China (1878)
- Olympics (980)
- 2008 Beijing Olympics (339)
- Amputees (16)
Oscar Pistorius, 21, has set Paralympic world records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and it was his dream to compete in the Olympic Games but the International Association of Athletics Federations has barred him from competing in the Beijing Olympics.
-
How ironic, a disabled man is barred from entering the Olympics because his 'cheetah flex-feet' prosthetics give him a significant advantage over able-bodied runners.
Recent reports say he is now planning to campaign against the ruling.
Is it fair for the IAAF to bar him from the Olympics? -
devil's advocate...
-
Yeah... this story sucks in a lot of ways, and thinking about it sucks even more because it's hard to think of a fair conclusion. If he's already set world records he probably has a real chance to do well in the Olympics - but he's technically disabled. His legs give him an "advantage"... but what about the steroids that his Olympic competitors would be taking, right?
I don't know... I say he challenges the top 5 or 10 runners to a track and field event for charity. It's cases like these where someone with a disability actually has an advantage to do something great. So yeah, it sucks if they don't let him compete... but what can you do?
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
