Disabled Athletes Competing with Able-bodied Athletes

[shadowplay]

You may have heard of Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter known as "Blade runner" - fitted with prosthetic legs - who will be competing against able-bodied athletes at the Olympic games in London. Recently, Michael Johnson, winner of the gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 games in the 400m sprint, spoke of his disagreement with allowing athletes with specially developed limbs to compete:

While he stressed that he considers Pistorius, who has been allowed to compete at the London Games in the able-bodied 400m, as a friend, the Dallas-born sprinter revealed that he considers the principle of disabled competitors lining up alongside those without specially developed limbs flawed.

When asked at a Times+ event whether he thought Pistorius's inclusion was political correctness gone mad or an inspiring human story, the 44 year-old said: “I think it is both. I know Oscar well, and he knows my position; my position is that because we don’t know for sure whether he gets an advantage from the prosthetics that he wears it is unfair to the able-bodied competitors.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ol...-Oscar-Pistorius-has-an-unfair-advantage.html

While the first thing that comes to mind for myself and a lot of people seems to be "well, let's take away your legs and see how much of an advantage you have at sprinting!", I think the objectors may have a point. These particular prosthetics are not merely fake legs, they appear to actively enhance his ability to sprint, and potentially give him an unfair advantage. Or, is that potential advantage balanced out by his disability?

What are your thoughts?

 

[warpus]

I don't mind it, but only because the Olympics have turned into a bit of a farce in the sense that it is oftentimes the equipment and not the athlete that make the difference.

Instead of a showcase of human ability, it has turned into a showcase of the impact of technology on human performance instead.

In that light, I don't mind if someone's racing with non-human feet, as the olympics aren't a showcase of human ability anymore. If they were, I would be against it.

 

[Dell19]

For me the issue isn't whether or not he gains an advantage, its that it can't be proven either way so if he ever set a world record there would always be question marks over whether it was a definitive record or not.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I am reminded of the one-legged wrestler who competes in a much lower weight class than he normally would.

Born with one leg, Arizona St. wrestler wins NCAA title

I think we need rules that state one must have all his normal appendages and cannot use any specialized devices at all.

 

[ParkCungHee]

While the first thing that comes to mind for myself and a lot of people seems to be "well, let's take away your legs and see how much of an advantage you have at sprinting!",

I don't know. If it's actually a demonstration advantage, I can actually imagine future Olympians actually removing their limbs for an advantage.

I don't mind it, but only because the Olympics have turned into a bit of a farce in the sense that it is oftentimes the equipment and not the athlete that make the difference.

Instead of a showcase of human ability, it has turned into a showcase of the impact of technology on human performance instead.

In that light, I don't mind if someone's racing with non-human feet, as the olympics aren't a showcase of human ability anymore. If they were, I would be against it.

Are there any Olympians that are lacking for equipment this year?

 

[ummmm........]

I think we need rules that state one must have all his normal appendages and cannot use any specialized devices at all.

Could a biathlete have lasik?

 

[MCdread]

For me the issue isn't whether or not he gains an advantage, its that it can't be proven either way so if he ever set a world record there would always be question marks over whether it was a definitive record or not.

I guess the "proof" would have to be achieved by very different methods depending on the sport and event. In Pistorius's case though, you can probably do at least some statistical comparisons with able bodied athletes. AFAIK you can partition the 400 m event into distinct phases: there's the start, the initial acceleration, the peak of performance and then probably a deceleration and drop in performance towards the end as athletes get tired and lactic acid builds up in your legs. Pistorius probably has an advantage at the end because his prosthetic limbs don't fatigue. It's possible that they don't give him the muscle power needed in other parts of the race. You could probably compare his time splits with those of the average athlete and see how their speed fluctuations compare. If they're statistically different and he's the biggest outlier then I think it could be argued he shouldn't compete.

 

[innonimatu]

I don't mind it, but only because the Olympics have turned into a bit of a farce in the sense that it is oftentimes the equipment and not the athlete that make the difference.

The thing has been a circus from the start. Now it's just more obviously so.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Could a biathlete have lasik?

I don't see any real problem with minor operations like that which only restore normal capability. But just wait until people start lopping off limbs so they can be more competitive.

 

[azzaman333]

It's all well and good until they start winning and setting records.

 

[del62]

Steve Austin could have set a whole load of world records in the 70s


Link to video.

 

[Formaldehyde]

It's all well and good until they start winning and setting records.

The wrestler I posted above can very well get a gold in the upcoming Summer Olympics. The weight of one leg makes a huge difference in the weight class. His chest and arms are much larger than any of his competitors.

 

[madviking]

The wrestler I posted above can very well get a gold in the upcoming Summer Olympics. The weight of one leg makes a huge difference in the weight class. His chest and arms are much larger than any of his competitors.

I don't have a beef with him since there are set weight limits. Losing a leg isn't automatically helpful or harmful, unlike the blades.

The South African runner, if his blades do prove to be beneficial, put him versus normal, able-bodied people. However, in the case of the wrestler, there are set weight classes and jazz like that. If the wrestler had to compete in the weight class he would've been in with two legs, that would be closer to the South African runner's case. But, as you can see, without classes in track, this isn't the case, and thus it's apples and oranges.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I don't have a beef with him since there are set weight limits. Losing a leg isn't automatically helpful or harmful, unlike the blades.

Of course it is helpful in that it allows Robles to compete in a far lower weight class. If he competed in the proper class factoring in the weight of his lost leg, Robles would not do nearly as well against those with similarly developed torsos and arms. Robles has a distinct advantage because an additional leg is nowhere near as advantageous as competing in a far lower weight class is.

And it is quite similar to "blade runner", because if they are successful it will mean that other athletes will be tempted to chop off their own appendages to merely win a silly medal.

 

[madviking]

As someone who wrestled before, being able to stand is a benefit.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Being able to stand, being able to hook your foot, being able to shoot in...

 

[Formaldehyde]

As someone who wrestled before, being able to stand is a benefit.

Being someone who has wrestled before, then I'm sure you understand what it means to have a torso and arms that are far bigger than anybody in the next weight class, much less your own. The NCAA championship match against the defending national champion wasn't even close.


Link to video.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Robles

In Robles' final year of eligibility (2010–11), Robles went undefeated, going 36-0 on the year,[5] becoming a three-time Pac-10 champion (defeating Jason Lara from Oregon State in the final,[6] and a national champion, defeating the defending 125 pound NCAA Champion, Iowa's Matt McDonough 7-1 in the final. For his efforts, Robles was voted the Tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler.[7]

 

[ParkCungHee]

The problem isn't even the weight advantage. I've seen wrestler over come an even bigger weight difference plenty of times. The real reason that one legged wrestlers do so astoundingly well is that what you spend your time learning in wrestling is largely useless in a lot of the situations you encounter against someone with one leg.

Like in you video there, the other wrestler has no hope of shooting in, even when he tries.

It's basically an entirely different contest from a regular wrestling match.