Double-amputee to compete in able bodied sports

[thinfourth2]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/14444569...

I don't know how i feel about this

On one side its great that a "disabled" person can compete with those that are able bodied but on the other side at the rate technology is moving it won't be long before those with engineered legs are faster then us with grown legs. Already in marathons the wheelchair athletes are over 30 minutes faster then those with legs.

So should those with disabilities be competing with those that don't as technology could give disabled athletes the upper hand

Yes i'm sure the wheelchair athletes would prefer to be able to run and i'm not saying otherwise and i shall setup a Facebook tribute to show how sorry i feel for them as i'm such an heartless bd

[greygoose]

Let the able bodied take all the drugs they want, that may level up the playing field.

[paulrockliffe]

What Pistorius does isn't 400m running. He covers the same 400m but it's a very different sport to the 400m running that the others in his race will be doing. The differences are that those carbon blades do not add anything to the forward motion, but they are incredibly efficient. So racing on them relies on just the upper legs to accelerate, but once up to speed much less energy is wasted and it is easier to maintain speed. What you will see is that he's very slow to get up to speed, but then doesn't tire.

What I don't understand is why he doesn't do the 800m, where he would be in contention for the win, or the 1500m where he would hammer the world record? The cynic in me might think that it's because if he was making a case for his inclusion and running sub 1.40 for 800, there's no way they'd let him in.

For me, what he does isn't 400m running and he shouldn't be competing with able-bodied athletes for that reason. I don't see it as any different to wheel-chair athletes, who are significantly faster than able-bodied athletes at the marathon, so have their own categories.

[Thankyou4calling]

Seems daft to me. I really admire the guy BUT, can I enter the high jump in 14foot stilts? Can I do the swimming wearing flippers? Can I enter the boxing with a metal hand like the terminator ? Can't see why not if this is allowed!

[Sheets Tabuer]

I saw him on the news, he didn't seem to be putting in as much effort as the guy running next to him, he may well have been but it didn't look like it.

[lenandsons]

Have no issue with this, he has been through the mill by every governing body going and been cleared to run. He ran the qualifying time and is in the SA squad. Huge well done to the guy for chasing his dream and looks very close to having got there.