http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfiel...tory?id=3398915

Uplifting story, and uncertain ending thus far.. I personally hope he makes the team, and will be rooting for him at the Olympics if he does.

Your thoughts? Unfair advantage? Should he be allowed to compete?

 

if it cannot be proven to give a mechanical advantage then more power to him.

If it extends his gait, produces unhuman characteristics and therefore gives him physical and mechanical advantages then i say no.

we are quickly coming into the era of asterisk sports. Meaning all of the records and previously held accolades will have to start being asterisked in some way from all of the performance enhancing everything.

Give, this individual was born with a defect and this technology now allows him to compete but what happens when the first comes up and elects to have this type of modification because of the advantages.

maybe not with this particular mod, but mark my words, as we progress with implants and robotics and mecha in general, people will openly elect to mod thier bodies for the benefit of the sport they choose to persue. When that happens will have to institute two sets of rules for just about any physical sport.

 

How do you measure whether or not it gives him an advantage. There is no basiss of comparison (I'm talking against himself with legs).

I can understand his desire to compete and I would like to see him compete. Could they not allow him to race and then (should he win or place), give an alternate medal based on his standing?

 

if those blades actually convert his exerted energy into something beyond what is physically capable from regular humans then it would be completely unfair.

I am not saying it does at this point and it looks like the powers that be cant prove it either but if you look at the spring rate of those new style pogo guys in cirque de solei and others who use this leaf or blade technology to spring themselves around you could easily see how these fitting could be exploited.

even if it gave his strides a couple of centimeters over the next guy, his ability to cover ground could be improved almost exponentially. That would be completely unfair.

As it is right now, it does not seem to be the case so good for him. But I would expect to see his performances scrutinized by the world to see if he really is on a level playing field.

Humans with legs having different gaits and strides is one thing....as soon as you introduce something non-human into the mix, all bets are off IMHO. Letting this person compete would instantly change the face of all sports from now on because he would have set a precedence for non-human enhancement being allowed in a sporting event.

Good or bad this precedence will be exploited and it would have to be allowed for all participants to choose to have this modification or not to keep discrimination in check.

 

I agree with Primo - Watching the video, you can see the blades give a little flex in the middle, something the human leg can't do. That flex could act like a slingshot in the way that the blade extends as he pushes off. I think he should compete with a more human-like prosthetic leg.

 

I root for him in general but the competition should be limited to whole people. To me Olympic events are all about human abilities. I realize that is tempered by use of tools, such as skis on snow. I suppose at the same time I view non-tool events like running as more pure.

I don't know how he can prove equality. Just one specific attribute example -- His circulatory system is, um, abbreviated. Does that have truly zero effect? How do you prove that?

 

I wonder how much he weighs and how tall he is with the blades on. He may have all the same strength as the other runners but with 30lbs less weight.

 

Also....who is to say that if he had a perfectly good pair of legs he would be able to compete? I'm not trying to be a smartass but there is more to this than just not having the limbs.

We know he has the lung capacity and the heart and the desire but what if he had his legs and still couldn't compete?

I guess what I am saying is...what if a person had legs and wished to be a world class sprinter but wasn't compettitive and then lost his/her legs and then after being fitted with these same prosthetics was compettive? Kind of like the six million dollar man...

Maybe the prosthetics are making him competitive at something he would not normally be. There is much more to running at world class speed than having legs.
Ask a dwarf..

 

in the case of skis and guns, poles, javelins shots etc etc..all of the people have access to the same equipment and have to use them to compete in the event. You are never going to see a down hill skier doing it barefoot. Or a luger greasing up his/her backside and going au naturale.

This is a very grey area and great pains are going to have be taken to ensure competiveness.

It is unfortunate for the injured party, but, maybe there are some things they just CANT do. Compete in something a irreproachable and pure as the olympics may be one of them. not to say they cannot make special categories for people like him but they already do that...its called the "special" olympics. And I am not making light of that competition either. People always assume it is for mentally handicapped people and its not. they include physically handicapped as well.

There are several world class atheletes in that competition as well.

This whole thing can get way out hand quickly....Does a person obviously afflicted with down syndrome, who may have ZERO deficits in their ability to run the 400m be allowed to compete with "regular" people? I am sure they could and there probably are no regulations to keep them from doing so, but, there is a reason why they, for the most part, chose not to compete in open competitions

We could way off-topic real quick with valid points and counter points. This is how volitile this issue is

 

I really do not see any problem with any handicapped person (with prosthetics) competing. As long as they are competitive.

We don't need any more reverse racism.

It seems pretty simple to me to just award two seperate sets of medals for the top three..

I know the Olympics represents the best of the athletes. Is not the competitive heart and spirit recognized and celebrated as well? Maybe even more so.

Remember Eddie the Eagle!