Oscar Pistorius

[Azonic]

Ok, I did a search and I see this topic might have been addressed before.

 

I'd like to ask again amongst other sports people, do you or do you not believe that his carbon legs give him an unfair advantage?

 

I had a bit of a back-n-forth on this topic on Facebook yesterday with non sports-people who seem to value the "feel good / overcome adversity" factor more than facts.

 

I looked up a few online stories on the topic. A few years back he was investigated by a bunch of scientists and barred from competition. Oscar hired his own lawyers and scientists and had the ban overturned. Now, some of those same lawyers have changed their tune and admitted that there might be some advantages.

 

Some points raised:

 

1) Because of not having lower limbs, his legs need a substantial amount less oxygen to function.

2) Some argue that there is a substantial less lactic acid buildup while running, so the "burn" factor is gone.

3) When running, the carbon blades take up the impact that otherwise would have to been taken up by a "normal" athletes feet, ankles, hips and lower back.

4) No lower legs means no strains, less injuries etc = more training.

5) The carbon legs weigh quite a bit less than real limbs, surely making it easier to swing them back for the next "step".

6) Personally, from my side: Height wise he is roughly as tall as other other sprinters. Not like Usain Bolt that is very tall with long legs making it possible for him to have a very long stride and a lower "leg speed" and still win. When Oscar runs you can see that his "leg speed" is lower than most of the other sprinters, yet he mostly keeps up with them. How is that possible? Longer "bounce" factor?

 

People say that if the carbon legs were such an advantage he would have won the other night. I say that even with a slight mechanical advantage that the carbon legs might give a person, if you are not a pure sprinter with the snappy legspeed that is required you still won't win.

 

I don't know Oscar, obviously. I've seen him on TV a few times and he seems like a very nice oke. I'm just commenting on my and other's observations.

 

What says you guys?

[Scooter69]

This is a can of worms, don't open it.

 

:o

[Guest]

Can't look......

 

Hats off to Oscar....I mean, our medal hopes in the sprinting was on the shoulders of a guy with no legs....seriously, give him the credit.

[Azonic]

....seriously, give him the credit.

 

Here we go, that's the kumbaya (aka warm and fuzzy) factor people aren't willing to look past.

[Escapee..]

I really dont understand why they let him run in the Olympics in the first place.

 

Yes he qualified, but if he was in the running for a medal surely the other athletes would have said something about it?

IMHO he is just running in the Olympics for the "kumbaya" factor

[Shebeen]

I think it's pretty clear he has an advantage. Thing is that he's probably a 52 second guy physically, but the blades make him competitive. and that's the rub - I've followed the science on this for a while and it's all been hocus, BUT you don't really need to read up on it, just ask yourself some simple questions:

 

If he was winning, would they let him run?

If he dominated, would they let him run?

Would the athletes accept him?

 

Clearly he just wouldn't be allowed to win, because then he'd go under the proper microscope. He's just the front end of a pr machine, and lapping it up. The problem is that they've set a dangerous precedent and it will burn them later, wait till someone tries to do the highjump with kangaroo legs.

 

 

edit: if you want to read some good science on it, here is my pick of the pundits:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/Oscar%20Pistorius

Edited August 7, 2012 by The Dictator

[fabes]

Why do you care? He didn't make the final and he achieved his main goal in life. I think its an great advert for ANY sport and i think its shows young people living with an disability that it is not the end of the road.

 

good on you Oscar

[Brian Fantana]

Well if Kirani James (he won the 400m final last night) want to exchange race numbers with him, it shows that the other athletes respect him. If he had an unfair advantage, the other athletes would not have respected him as much as they do.

 

 

Race2Recovery are massive fans of Oscar Pistorius. They are an amputee rally team who are aiming at participating in next years Dakar Rally. Most of their amputee team members ahve lost limbs in the Iraq/Pakistan war. He inspires many people.

 

The positive aspects he brings to sport far outweighs any advantage/disadvantage he may have. But I guess if you have a negative mindset in life you will find fault with anything.

[Escapee..]

I think it's pretty clear he has an advantage. Thing is that he's probably a 52 second guy physically, but the blades make him competitive. and that's the rub - I've followed the science on this for a while and it's all been hocus, BUT you don't really need to read up on it, just ask yourself some simple questions:

 

If he was winning, would they let him run?

If he dominated, would they let him run?

Would the athletes accept him?

 

Clearly he just wouldn't be allowed to win, because then he'd go under the proper microscope. He's just the front end of a pr machine, and lapping it up. The problem is that they've set a dangerous precedent and it will burn them later, wait till someone tries to do the highjump with kangaroo legs.

 

 

edit: if you want to read some good science on it, here is my pick of the pundits:

http://www.sportssci...car%20Pistorius

 

[deanbean]

I was reading an article about him, trying to find it, where they reckon his major advantage is his leg swing time (when his leg swings forwards), due to the low weight of the prostheses. But then he has a disadvantage at the start, due to the less rigid blades reducing his acceleration. So i don't know.

I'll post the article when I find it, my internet is horribly slow this morning.

[Azonic]

But I guess if you have a negative mindset in life you will find fault with anything.

 

Who are you talking to, me, or the general scientific community out there that mostly sing the same tune?

[davetapson]

The irony is that because he lost, he's a hero.

 

If he had won, those self same people praising him would be trying to find every reason as to why he shouldn't be allowed to run.

 

And I suspect that Kirani James would not have been swapping numbers with him.

Edited August 7, 2012 by davetapson

[Azonic]

good on you Oscar

 

Do you want a marsmallow with that cup of kumbaya?

[Bat-ass]

IF he was winning in the final Kirani James and the rest of the athletes would be protesting. I think what Oscar does is increadable and inspiring, but I also think he is denying an able athlete a spot in the final. I dont think he should be competing in able bodied olympics.

[YetiFan]

I hear the scientific explanations - and they're probably right. But I think the 'kumbaya' you talk about is awesome in itself, regardless of the science. Oscar's an amazing inspiration to able-bodied, para-athletes and non-athletes all over the world.

 

Forget the science - celebrate the triumph of human spirit

[davetapson]

It's probably been said elsewhere, but fabes avatar makes it a bit difficult to concentrate on this topic.

 

It needs to go in the all things awesome thread...

 

Hang on, let me go back and check. Yep. Hang on, I just need to check again...